‘Kain Tayo Pilipinas’: Private sector tackles malnutrition, food insecurity

KTP and PBSP chair Manny V. Pangilinan

MANILA, Philippines — Leaders from the business and nongovernment communities recently launched Kain Tayo Pilipinas (KTP), an initiative that unites private sector stakeholders to tackle food insecurity and malnutrition in the country.

The coalition forming for KTP aims to develop tangible solutions toward Zero Hunger, one of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations and an area where ESG-conscious companies can play a role.

According to the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), which serves as the KTP secretariat, one out of 10 Filipino households is considered food insecure and 26.7 percent of under-age-5 Filipinos are stunted.

READ: ‘Walang Gutom’: 300,000 more families getting food stamps

The PBSP is also one of the partner organizations of the Inquirer ESG Edge Initiative.

“If we all help, no one will go hungry,” said businessman Manny V. Pangilinan, the KTP and PBSP chair, as he called for wider public participation in the movement.

Bottom-up approach

According to Dr. Clarissa David, the World Bank senior country officer for Brunei, Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand, the Philippine Human Capital Index currently stands at .52, meaning that a Filipino child born today will only be 52 percent as productive in their adulthood with a complete education and full health.

The Philippines trails behind its neighbors in terms of health and nutrition indicators, as well as skills and education outcomes, resulting in a cost of $4.4 billion in annual economic growth losses.

For Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian, chair of the government’s Task Force Zero Hunger, food insecurity and malnourishment should be addressed starting with the needs and capabilities of communities and individuals, rather than solely relying on top-down publicly funded initiatives.

“Interventions to end hunger and malnutrition will be more effective with the help of the private sector,” the Cabinet official added.

3 workstreams

KTP will have three workstreams—Nutrition, Food Security and Enablers. The Nutrition Workstream will adopt a life-stage approach targeting direct beneficiaries, especially children ages 0 to 2.

The Food Security Workstream will empower families by providing them with better access to healthier and more affordable food options.

The Enablers Workstream will focus on interventions that complement the two others, particularly on sustainability through water sanitation and hygiene, nutrition education, public policy and governance, and more.

PBSP vice chair and KTP board member Manolito Tayag said Kain Tayo “will serve as an informer, impact watcher, policy advocate, resource mobilizer and curator, ensuring the sustainability of initiatives implemented alongside the public sector.” —contributed