Gov't approves dietary supplementation program on select infants and pregnant women through cash subsidy or food packs

On Friday, the government’s task force leading the country’s coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic response has approved a “dietary supplementation program” for babies and pregnant women at risk of developing nutritional problems, Malacañang announced.

Photo credit: gulfnews.com

The latest program for the concerned beneficiaries has been endorsed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

The Inter-Agency Task Force adopted today, October 2, a dietary supplementation program for infants ages 6-23 months and nutritionally at-risk pregnant women through the provision of cash or food packs amid the COVID-19 health crisis,

Roque said.

Ito po’y ipamimigay sa pamamagitan ng cash o di naman po kaya’y food pack,

Roque said.

[This will be distributed in the form of cash or food packs,]

He called the program a partial solution to the problem of hunger during this pandemic.

This forms part of improving the healthcare of the citizens and a means to eliminating hunger which has been aggravated by the pandemic,

he said.

Roque did not say when the government will begin the implementation and how much money will be allocated for the program.

The decision came days after a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey found that 7.6 million Filipino households experienced involuntary hunger in the last three months. SWS said based on its survey conducted from September 17 to 20, the hunger incidence recorded this month surpassed the previous peak of 23.8 percent posted in March 2012.

Following the survey results on hunger incidence, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the government has started to calibrate the “National Food Policy” to address hunger incidence especially during the pandemic. 

The policy, that includes initiatives for ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture, will be formally launched on World Food Day on October 16.

We want to come out with a policy framework that will not only address the immediate impact of the pandemic on hunger, but will also provide a long-term strategy to eradicate hunger by 2030,

Nograles, head of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger, said.