Fighting the hidden pangs of hunger
November 10, 2003 | 12:00am
The average Filipino eats at least five times a day, his meals consist mostly of rice, viand and, if available and can be afforded, vegetables. Most Filipinos believe eating regularly is enough to help them get through their work and daily activities. However, most families, particularly children belonging to the D and E socio-economic classes, usually have no other choice but to consume rice flavored with soy sauce, brown sugar or table salt. While this makes them feel full and satisfied, these meals lack the nutrients needed by the body to develop fully.
As a result, children from the D and E groups are more prone to sickness and do not develop mentally and physically. They are usually shorter than most kids their age, get sick easily, cognition is impaired often severely and irreversibly, and do not do well in class, that is, if they go to school at all.
Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Antonio Lopez stated, "Unknown to many, hidden hunger is a global health problem far worse than the highly publicized severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS. Families around the world may not even know that they are already suffering from it." And based on data obtained by USAID-Helen Keller International (HKI), 12.2 million or 56 percent of deaths among children below five years old in developing countries is caused by malnutrition. It is in fact the leading cause of deaths among children in this age group followed by respiratory infection (33.7 percent), diarrhea (24.7 percent), measles (9.5 percent) and malaria (7.5 percent).
Locally, a Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) study revealed that four out of 10 Filipino children are deficient in Vitamin A, three out of 10 are anemic due to iron deficiency, and three out of 10 suffer from Iodine Deficiency Disorder. Moreover, these inadequacies also exist among Filipino women of reproductive age. Health officials said that children born to these mothers have impaired physical and cognitive development.
The widespread micronutrient malnutrition in the country underscores the importance of food fortification particularly of staple foods. Through food fortification the government hopes that the average Filipino, especially those below the poverty line, would no longer feel the pangs of hunger – even the invisible, silent kind.
Fortification is the process whereby vitamins and minerals are added to foods to increase their overall nutritional value and maintain or improve the quality of the diet or group, a community or a population. In the Philippines, the government has identified vitamin A, iron and iodine as the three most needed micronutrients in the country; and would be fortifying rice with iron, flour with vitamin A and iron, and refined sugar and cooking oil with vitamin A.
The program has long been one of the strategies taken by the DOH, and other partner agencies, and as Hector Maglalang, resident advisor of MOST-USAID emphasized, "The technology for food fortification is now readily available, it is cost-effective, and sustainable." In fact, Maglalang continued, "A number of manufacturers have already fortified their food products even before the deadline."
With food fortification underway, it is the fervent hope of everyone – both those in the public and private sectors – that Filipino children can grow stronger in mind and body; adults can become more productive in the workplace; and the country’s economic resources can be used more efficiently through the steady reduction of health care costs. Once the goals of food fortification have been fully achieved, we shall see more Filipinos sharing in the task of nation-building and counting themselves as productive citizens of the country who can contribute to our national aspiration to become a fully developed and globally competitive nation.
Lending support to the program is Lani Mercado who agreed to provide her celebrity status to promote the initiatives of this noble program. In a print-based Batang ‘Di KSP campaign. Lani and daughter Loudette support the call for the consumption of foods fortified with Vitamin A, iron and iodine. Para ‘di maging KSP (Kulang sa Sangkap Pinoy) is the main message that they hope to impart to various stakeholders. In an earlier campaign on iodized salt initiated by UNICEF with the DOH, Gary Valenciano made a similar endorsement.
Celebrities have the power to make people listen to them. And in this noisy world, where competition for share of mind is fierce, getting our customers to listen to us is invaluable. Let’s face it, unless our health programs are breakthroughs they don’t garner much attention from the average consumer.
A partnership between a celebrity and a health program has an intangible sort of magic. It creates a positive association between the program and multiple audiences – consumers, manufacturers, health service providers, and media. In most cases, programs such as the food fortification campaign can be seen as technical and obscure to the average consumer. But marrying a celebrity to the program provides a recognition factor that elevates the program to household name status.
Celebrities have moved the needle of change in healthcare communications. They have raised awareness of diseases, promoted prevention, funneled money into research, and have successfully worked through political channels. Two common ways of leveraging celebrities in this arena is through public service advertising or advocacy PR, or a combination of both. There are, of course, pros and cons to both. It’s up for the healthcare communicator to carefully determine what is best for the program.
Every Filipino must commit to fight the war against hidden hunger. We must strongly support the food fortification program by buying only products that carry the Sangkap Pinoy recognition. It is unconscionable that millions of people in our midst are under the pangs of hidden hunger that derails our advancement and affects the quality of our race.
BrandSpace Articles
<
>
