UP scientists bat for development of 'disaster commodities'

MANILA, Philippines - Develop “disaster commodities” for calamity victims sheltered in evacuation centers.

Thus recommended professors Rowena Grace Rumbaoa and Lorena Tengco of the University of the Philippines Diliman-College of Home Economics (UPD-CHE).

The food scientist and nutritionist stressed the need to develop “nutrient-dense food products” in their “Report on the Assessment of Food Safety and Nutrition Concerns in Selected Evacuation Centers in Iligan City.”

Their report was based on their observations on the food and nutrition situation in some evacuation centers early this year in the aftermath of the devastation wreaked by typhoon “Sendong” in northern Mindanao late last year.

Their findings were cited in a feature published in a recent issue of the UP Newsletter, the university’s community publication.

Relief food at the evacuation centers was “generally of poor quality in terms of amount and variety,” Rumbaoa and Tengco noted. “Most of the children looked underweight, stunted, and/or wasted (thin).”

Cooking of dry rations (rice, noodles, coffee and canned goods) was commonplace. Moreover, “there was evidence of improper food waste disposal in some areas,” the said.

UP Manila’s Ugnayan ng Pahinungod, a volunteer service program, invited the UPD-CHE to participate in the medical mission to assess relief and rehabilitation efforts in the evacuation centers. Rumbaoa and Tengco were among the volunteers.

UP System president Alfredo Pascual organized the mission in response to the calamity. The team included experts from UP Manila-Philippine General Hospital, National Institute of Geological Science, and UP Diliman. It was headed by UP vice president J. Prospero de Vera III.

Based on their assessment, Rumbaoa and Tengco recommended that UPD-CHE explore the development of low-cost but nutrient-dense food products that can provide immediate relief to victims of disasters.

“The technology may even be passed on to local producers so they can independently prepare their own ‘disaster commodities,’” they added.

The scientists concluded: “More information is necessary to best address the needs of the affected families and individuals depending on the type of disaster and how this assistance will be delivered most effectively.”