Philippine Church gears up again to fight child malnutrition at Lent
According to UNICEF Philippines, 95 children die every day from malnutrition, while 27 out of 1,000 never reach the age of five. Reversing course is a huge undertaking that also starts with the “Fast to Feed” campaign organised by the Philippine Church to provide a meal to malnourished children during Lent via “Pondo ng Pinoy”.
Manila (AsiaNews) – Several Philippine dioceses have started the "Fast to Feed" campaign during Lent to help hungry and malnourished children with the “Pondo ng Pinoy”, an NGO located at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center in Manila.
Created by Card Gaudencio Borbón Rosales, former archbishop of Manila, “Pondo ng Pinoy", which literally means “funds for Filipinos", raises money for the Catholic Church to be used in its mission of evangelisation and against child poverty.
Pondo ng Pinoy’s aim is to fight poverty and nurture a culture of solidarity and help others through a donation of as little as 25 centavos a day.
Feeding a hungry child requires only ₱15.00 (US$ 0.27) per day. People who fast during Lent can donate the money they save to feed the country’s malnourished children.
“People’s sacrifice today will sow the seeds of hope and nourishment for a brighter tomorrow,” says Bishop Gerardo Alimane Alminaza of San Carlos. “This is to express our love for God through our love of neighbour,” he added.
Proceeds will also be used to provide food support to malnourished and pregnant women.
According to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted in mid-2023, at least 10.4 per cent of Philippine households ran out of food at least once in the previous three months.
In addition, according to data from UNICEF[*] Philippines, 95 Philippine children die every day from malnutrition while 27 out of 1,000 children do not survive beyond the age of five.
In the Philippines, one child in three is underweight or stunted from lack of food; this entails physical and mental development, and makes children more prone to illness and missing school.
According to the World Bank, “stunting in the first 1,000 days is associated with poorer performance in school." The Philippines ranks seventh in the world among nations in East Asia and the Pacific region for the number of stunted children.
For its part, to effectively address the dual problem of hunger and malnutrition, the Philippine Congress passed a law in 2018 – Republic Act 11148, or First 1,000 Days Law – aimed at supporting children in their first 1,000 days, but reversing course is a huge undertaking that needs everyone's effort, like the Philippine Church's solidarity project "Fast to Feed” campaign through “Pondo ng Pinoy”.
[*] United Nations Children's Fund.
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