Showing posts with label hunger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hunger. Show all posts

PostHeaderIcon For poverty reduction, RP gets a $405 million loan from World Bank

11/19/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post


To lessen the incidence of poverty and hunger, the World Bank (WB) makes available a $405 million loan for the Philippines to support projects that will alleviate the impoverished condition of about 350,000 households.

About 1 in 6 people worldwide experiences hunger each day and poor Filipinos are no exception. To lessen the incidence of poverty and hunger, the World Bank (WB) makes available a $405 million loan for the Philippines to support projects that will alleviate the impoverished condition of about 350,000 households.

About 1 in 6 people worldwide experiences hunger each day and poor Filipinos are no exception. By estimates, the number of individuals suffering from lack of food will reach 1 billion this year throughout the world as the economy stalls. Cielito Habito, an economics professor of Ateneo de Manila says of the 90 million Filipinos, 35% (31.5 million) of them live below the poverty line. It is unlikely that the country, a UN-member nation, will meet its goal of reducing poverty to half its rate by 2015.

To counter the effects of poverty, international groups help indigent nations in maternal and child health, education, employment, and food production. Such money allocated for these projects are needed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in assisting families come out of economic difficulties.

The WB assistance must go hand-in-hand with the government addressing problems of the economy--- particularly the concentration of economic growth benefits in cities and lack of them in the countryside. (Photo Credit: mykworks) =0=

RELATED BLOG: "Donations sought for this year’s 1 billion hungry people worldwide " Posted by mesiamd at 11/16/2009
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PostHeaderIcon Donations sought for this year’s 1 billion hungry people worldwide

11/16/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post


The World Food Program (WFP) disclosed that for this year, an unprecedented number of hungry people will reach 1 billion. This translates to about 1 in 6 individuals getting hungry everyday. The United Nations (UN) organization asked people from rich countries to help in its online campaign for the poor by donating $1 dollar a week (www.wfp.org//1billion).

According to Josette Sherran, executive director of WFP, though governments worldwide have traditionally helped in beefing up funds to feed the poor, the present economic decline required that the private sector must assist in the anti-hunger effort.

A world food summit is scheduled in Rome, Italy to seek solution(s) for the increased hungry people. Countries like Germany, Britain, Italy, France and Japan are said to have withdrawn from their pledges in raising $20 billion this year. The fund is supposed to be used to prop-up agriculture in poor countries (http://www.avaaz.org)

Poverty in the Philippines

In spite of the over-hyped anti-poverty gains made by Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo, economist Cielito Habito of the Ateneo de Manila University in a recent forum said 35% of Filipinos are estimated to have fallen under the poverty line.

In spite of the economic gains of businesses, the ranks of the financially marginalized continued to expand ---- making it hard for the country to meet the UN-conceived millennium development goal of cutting poverty to half its rate by year 2015.

Experts blamed the failure of government officials to address the long-standing problems of the economy. Although the Philippines posted some economic growth, the living condition of the poor was still getting worse. Most of the growth was centered in the National Capital Region (Manila)leaving behind the poor Filipinos in the provinces and countryside. (PHoto Credit: mykworks) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon GMA lauds her government for “strong” economy in SONA, but critics disagree

7/28/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post




In spite of high joblessness that hovers to 27.9% and a hunger index of 23.7 percent of household (2008 SWS Survey,) the rising pressure for Filipinos to seek jobs abroad, and a poor rating in governance, Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo (GMA) told her people that the country enjoys a strong economy under her leadership.

The president's State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered last Monday, July 27, 2009 left the public thinking if what they heard was what they had been living. There had surely been gains in her leadership, but the stark economic hardship of Filipinos remained. GMA blamed her critics for the lack of appreciation to her accomplishments.

Praising the president in her last SONA was Speaker Prospero Nograles who according to the Daily Tribune, said, “The President’s Sona is tough in refuting her critics but it is also solidly based on real and factual achievements. Her Sona is undeniable proof that of all the Presidents that have come and gone, her administration is probably the most accomplished in the actual delivery of all her commitments in each of her Sona in the past nine years."

Nograles’ opinion was quickly junked by former Pres. Joseph Estrada saying, "Are we better off today than in 2001? In terms of moral recovery, we are now number 1 most corrupt in the world. In terms of economics, our foreign debt stands at P4 trillion, our farm output is half of what it was in 2000. We are now the biggest importer instead of exporter of rice" and "in terms of peace and order, there has been zero progress under Arroyo," he said, stressing that her achievements are in making the Philippines the most corrupt country; the second most dangerous country for journalists; a shabu exporter and the top importer of rice.---Source: Daily Tribune, (07/28,2009, Baldo, G.; Manalo, C.)

Theere is a widely disparate assessment by Arroyo and those who don't agree with her. It appears someone is lying again when a rosy picture of the country is put forth, while at the same time, others experience the opposite in their life. What is certain is the public can’t escape truth. Improvement of economic life, advancement, and prosperity remain unreachable to many Filipinos.

Manila Archibishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales warned the president to tell the truth. If only the “good news” GMA brought to the people was as truthful as the pompous dress she wore---like those of the lady senators' attires, perhaps, many would believe what they heard in the SONA was credible. (Photo Credit: Sunnexfor2; TCO3) =0=

RELATED BLOG: GMA told to tell the truth in SONA Posted by mesiamd at 7/27/2009

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PostHeaderIcon The “paradoxical” faces of hunger: obesity and emaciation

11/18/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post



A report shows the United States is beset with hunger problem just like the poor countries of the world. The US Department of Agriculture reports that 50% more American children compared to the previous year suffered hunger in 2007. Other findings are:

"_Some 691,000 children went hungry in America sometime in 2007 (above the 430,000 in 2006.) About one in eight Americans (12.5%) struggled to feed themselves adequately even before this year's sharp economic downtown.

_The families with the highest rates of food insecurity were headed by single mothers (30.2 percent), black households (22.2 percent), Hispanic households (20.1 percent), and households with incomes below the official poverty line (37.7 percent).

_States with families reporting the highest prevalence of food insecurity during
2005-2007 were Mississippi (17.4 percent), New Mexico (15 percent), Texas (14.8 percent) and Arkansas (14.4 percent.)

_The highest growth in food insecurity over the last 9 years came in Alaska and Iowa, both of which saw a 3.7 percent increase in families who struggled to eat adequately or had substantial food disruptions.)"---Associated Press; Yahoo.news.com (11/17/08, Sniffen, MJ)



What constitutes hunger for Americans is a bit unsettled compared to those who endure apparent lack of food in other countries. Although the definition of hunger isn’t clear, it is appalling that the richest country on earth is reported to suffer hunger like the Philippines, one among the top five world nations which deals with lack of food.

Understanding food deprivation in USA is hard given the tremendous resources the nation has. Many of its “hungry” people are obese and are within arms way from government welfare services which are meager or almost non-existent in the Third World. Sixty-five (65%) of the Americans suffer from excessive weight; among them are those who complain of hunger. Paradoxically, even the overweights experience hunger. Fat people are seen quite regularly lining up in welfare offices, food stamp lines, social service agencies, and soup kitchens.

It seems hunger looks differently in USA than in other places that most people know. In the Third World, the hungry are usually underweight and emaciated---- the usual signs of malnutrition from pervasive lack of food and high incidence of diseases. Each day the poor struggle to eat, mostly subsisting on skimpy food devoid of essential nutrients which explains their thinness. The social milieu in which they live shows food scarcity----unlike in USA where faulty food distribution is the problem.



Where food supply is abundant and readily available, obesity is traced to poor eating habits. Inadequate knowledge on nutrition, lack of exercise, and alternating over-eating and undisciplined binging are leading reasons for their excessive weight. Concurrent illnesses and the influence of genes are blamed for some forms of obesity, but almost all emaciated people suffer from lack of food and/or concomitant diseases.

So there’s the clue why people who go hungry can’t be easily recognized by their appearances. It’s interesting to know how many among the obese complain of hunger in America while in the rest of the world, the hungry are physically wasting away. It’s sobering to think how Americans could suffer hunger in the midst of plenty. (Photo Credits: Calvaryslo; MioCade; ClaudeBarute; ItuDk) =0=

RELATED BLOG: 'Hunger in the Philippines" Posted by mesiamd at 11/05/2008

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PostHeaderIcon Hunger in the Philippines

11/05/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post


Listed in decreasing order of countries with hunger problem, the Philippines (40%) ranked 5th with Cameroon (55%,) Pakistan (53%,) Nigeria (48%,) Peru (42%,) topping the list. For lack of food, 4 out of 10 households (40%) or about 35 million Filipinos face hunger. The finding is worse but consistent with Manila’s Social Weather Stations poll (SWS) showing that the average hunger for 2008 is about 16.8%.

Regardless of the surveys' accuracy what is important is to recognize the need to solve the worsening poverty, malnutrition, and food deprivation in the country. Bulacan Bishop Jose Oliveros of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said:

"Granted the survey holds true, the government should make concrete pro-poor programs to make sure every household gets enough nutritious food to feed their family" GMA TV News (11/05/08)

Oliveros blame corruption, not overpopulation as the main cause of rampant hunger. It is most severe in Metro Manila where 500,000 families suffer lack of food. He asks the government to put up programs like providing employment to the poor so that “ramdam ang gutom” reverses into “ramdam ang kaunlaran.” (Photo Credit: Jaridaking) =0=
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