Siquijor Province – NNC 7 calls upon local governments in Central Visayas to bolster its resilience-building programs to help prepare their areas against natural or man-made disasters. According to NPC Dr. Parolita A. Mission of NNC, one such example is the creation and intensification of a Food Security Committee or Task Force under the local nutrition committee in all local government units in Central Visayas. This will serve to achieve sustainable food security and nutrition.  NPC Dr. Mission added that with the current inflation rate of the country, it is high time to intensify the capacity of the LGU to produce food through rural and urban gardening programs such as backyard or household gardening, community or institutional gardening and farming. This program also creates venue to make livelihood through food processing and food trade industry and promote healthy living by consumption of fresh nutritious foods and help in building climate resilience and sustainable food system, the regional head of NNC further mentioned.

The Philippines is among the most susceptible country to natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions given its location along the Pacific and the Pacific Ring of Fire. In fact, the Philippines is among the top 3 in the whole word among the most disaster-prone countries in the 2018 World Risk Index. Aside from natural disaster, the Philippines also faced man-made disaster such as armed conflicts and even the COVID-19 pandemic (NM Talking Points, 2022). With all those mentioned above, Filipinos are known as among the most resilient people world-wide. Resiliency is an adaptive capability and positive response of a person to calamities, disasters, stresses and changes, may it be in the community and the surroundings.

Over the years, with the worsening of climate changes, these natural calamities and disasters are now even harder to predict. Vulnerable groups in the society such as the impoverished citizens, women, children and the senior citizens have always been affected during this time of natural and man-made shocks. Even if it’s just temporary, shocks and stressors have long-term and serious effects on the cognitive and physical development especially among the affected children.

With the COVID-19 endemic paradigm, and as the people shifts towards living with the new normal, Filipinos are challenged again to live a normal life, even with the threat of COVID-19 virus in its surroundings. To help improve nutrition situation and maximize nutrition impact despite the threat of the pandemic, government should include “resilience-building programs and policies that will also address and prevent all forms of malnutrition. Such is a critical part of the country and the region to have a pro-active program especially on food and nutrition security to build resilience and combat hunger during these challenging times which is also worsened by basic good commodities inflation. // ND II Gracey E. Adolfo, RND