Across the Philippines and around the world, the number and scale of disasters and emergencies will continue to rise – and women and children are the most affected population. Climate change, environmental degradation, and natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods and drought are wreaking havoc in vulnerable communities. The recent devastation brought by Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses in Northern and Southern Luzon left many homeless without adequate food to eat. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic further threatens the health and nutrition of women and children in settings that are already made fragile by disasters.
Disasters and emergency situations are often characterized by limited access to adequate safe food and water, as well as disruptions in health and nutrition services and constraints to protecting, promoting and supporting optimal infant and young child feeding. Women and children women are extremely vulnerable in emergencies and their nutritional status must be protected to prevent undernutrition and guarantee survival.
In order to do this, we need to support mothers to safely and adequately feed their babies during emergencies such as providing therapeutic feeding to children experiencing acute malnutrition to save their lives and deliver essential micronutrients to prevent and treat deficiencies. These are critical interventions to support infant and young child survival. There should also be close coordination with water and sanitation and health care programs which also help safeguard children’s nutritional status.
Equitable access to services and timely provision of essential supplies are key to this work’s success in the context of Nutrition in Emergencies. Provision of goods and services such as therapeutic foods to treat acute malnutrition, micronutrients to address deficiencies, or counselling to ensure that appropriate nutrition practices continue are all crucial. Further complicating the implementation of these interventions is the threat of COVID-19 remains even in areas hit by Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses. Therefore, humanitarian response in nutrition in emergencies encompasses a number of important actions to be implemented:
- Providing life-saving treatment
- Delivering key micronutrients to vulnerable populations
- Supporting infant and young child feeding
- Conducting assessment and surveillance
- Strengthening monitoring
- Developing norms and standards
- Fostering resilience
In addition to this, we should provide a safe space for lactating mothers to breastfeed their babies. Breastmilk is a protective food for infants to guard against infections which are common during emergencies. Infants who are not breastfed are more at risk to diarrhea, acute respiratory tract infection, malnutrition and even death. This is why the practice of exclusive breastfeeding for at least the first six months of the baby’s life should be continuously promoted and supported even in post-disaster situation.
Risk reduction and resilience building are paramount to all our work in humanitarian situations. Disaster and human-made risks must be anticipated, prevented and mitigated. In both development and emergency contexts, government and private sector should support communities affected by disaster to prepare for emergencies, promote rapid recovery and build resilience.
As someone who was in Manila when Typhoon Ondoy struck in 2009, Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, and the Mindanao Earthquake in 2019, we cannot remain indifferent with the realities we face and unless we strive to become self-reliant and resilient, we continue to be unprepared when disasters strike. Let us work as a community to address the underlying problems that create these dire situations and to build resilience in households, communities and systems to withstand crisis and cumulative stresses. #NASLabordo #LeoChristianLauzon
