Category: Women

COA’s Heidi Mendoza nominated UN Usec-General for Oversight

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HEIDI MENDOZA of the Philippines’s Commission on Audit has been nominated to a senior position in the United Nations.

In a press advisory released from New York Oct. 5, the UN said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, “following consultations with Chairs of Regional Groups, informed the General Assembly of his intention to appoint Heidi Mendoza of the Philippines as the new Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services for a five-year non-renewable term.”

Appointed to the COA in 2011 by President Benigno S. Aquino III, Mendoza is chairperson of the Audit Committee on Public Sector Auditing Standards Board, and External Auditor for the Food and Agriculture Organization, World Health Organization and International Labour Organization.

A certified public accountant, Mendoza has over 20 years of service in government particularly in the field of audit, investigation, fraud examination, anti-corruption and integrity advocacy.

UNDP-PH Country Director: Where are we on the Yolanda recovery?

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By Titon Mitra
Country Director in the Philippines
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

THERE IS AN ENDURING ADAGE that “the whole is only the sum of its parts”. Recent Press and commentary on the statement of Professor (Chaloka) Beyani, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, underlines the problems with highlighting certain issues in the absence of the whole. Beyani was complimentary about the Yolanda recovery and rehabilitation efforts. He commended the institutional and policy structures and frameworks that have been put in place, noting that the Philippines has much valuable experience that should be shared internationally. This is a view UNDP shares. Our then Senior Recovery Coordinator said that from his experience in many different disasters, he had never seen a recovery happen so quickly and so effectively.

But there is no question that significant challenges remain to be resolved in areas affected by Yolanda. This is neither surprising nor unusual. Remember that two years following Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was in far worse shape. Following the Great East Japan Earthquake, 230,000 people today are still in temporary shelters. Clearly the baseline in the Visayas (and for that matter nationally) relating to economic development, infrastructure, local capacity, financial resources, systems and processes for emergency and recovery management, were far below that of New Orleans and Japan. Benchmarking progress is important in managing expectations. The multilateral community had anticipated that reconstruction in Yolanda-affected areas would take at least 4-5 years. The usual period of time it takes for areas in similar circumstances to recover.

The issues highlighted in recent press coverage reflect a number of structural challenges that need to be addressed to expedite recovery from future disasters. Addressing these challenges requires the collaborative effort of the Legislature and the Executive and of national and local governments. It is far too convenient to point the finger in one direction, when collective responsibility and action is required. Let me comment on a few of these structural challenges.

DBM (Department of Budget and Management) has already released P88.96 billion for Yolanda operations. The total amount covers the releases from the end of 2013 to the first semester of 2015. For the second half of 2015, DBM plans to release P14.05 billion more. The transparency and accountability provisions within the law in part dictate the pace of release. Money from the center does need to move quickly. But as UNDP’s key mantra is good governance, we certainly will not be urging haste at the expense of appropriate financial controls. The structural challenge then is whether the public financial management system is ‘fit for purpose’. Stringent procurement processes prescribed under RA 9184, the Government’s Procurement Law are well intentioned, meant to ensure transparency and quality assurance. But it should be reviewed and amended, to include provisions on fast-track processes that will allow quicker recovery and rehabilitation following disasters. This requires legislative action.

Releases also have to be calibrated to the capacity of local governments and national agencies to effectively disperse allocations. Technical capacity to effectively plan, program and deliver is limited – if it weren’t, UNDP with our national and international partners, would not be working in the Philippines with programs focused on building that capacity.

Families still have to be relocated from bunkhouses. At least 2,000 families remain in temporary shelters. Government aims to move 70 percent of the 2,000 families into permanent concrete homes by year-end. But relocation is contingent on availability of land that is not vulnerable to future disasters. This requires effective use of hazard and vulnerability data and land zoning. Where appropriate land is identified, it needs to be purchased (at a fair price) or allocated and the land prepared by putting in place basic infrastructure including, roads, electricity and water. Housing and infrastructure has to be built back better. That is, re-engineered to withstand stronger hazard events than the last one experienced. This all inevitably takes time.

While families are in temporary accommodation, appropriate protection measures need to be in place. Protection is a basic right, but the draft bill on protecting the rights of displaced has languished in the Senate. Its’ appropriate formulation and passage would provide a clear framework and accountable measure for support to the displaced. Importantly, it will ensure that the UN Guiding Principles on displaced, which are based on key instruments of international human rights law, are enshrined in the national legal framework.

There is still much to do not only for those affected by Yolanda but also to prepare the systems and processes for any future event. The recovery process must continue apace. Now is also the time to examine closely what worked and did less so and make the structural fixes required to further enhance capacity to respond and recover in the future. This is a time for shared responsibility in building resilience to the new normal of a world affected by rapid climate change.


* Titon Mitra is the Country Director of the United Nations Development Programme in the Philippines. (titon.mitra@undp.org)

PH paradox: Undernourished children, overnourished adults

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UNDERNOURISHED children, overnourished adults — that is “the double burden of malnutrition” that afflicts the Philippines.

A paradox, indeed, in a highly agricultural economy, which should be producing food in abundance. To this day, however, many Filipinos do not have access to proper nutrition and adequate food supply, government data show.

In fact, according to Dr. Cecilia S.Acuin of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), the Philippines confronts a “double burden of malnutrition” – under-nutrition among children and overnutrition among adults.

She cited sad figures.

* Among Filipinos aged 0 to 5, one of every five (20 percent) is underweight; one of every three (30 percent) is under-height or does not meet the ideal height for their age; and 8 percent are “wasted” or underweight for their height.

* Among Filipinos aged 20 and above, one of every three (31 PERCENT) is overweight or obese; one of every five (22 percent) “have high waist circumference”; and three of every five (62 percent) have high waist-hip ratio.

The over-nutrition of Filipino adults, she said, has resulted from a bad combination of “increasing physical inactivity” and “poor diet” — the low intake of fruits and vegetables and the increasing intake of “energy-dense food.”

Acuin, at a forum organized last week by Greenpeace-Southeast Asia on the theme “Is there is a Food Emergency in the Philippines?” said that this double burden of malnutrition has led to micronutrient deficiencies.

These include anemia, which remains “a problem in vulnerable population groups” like children and pregnant and lactating women, as well as iodine-deficiency disorders, which are “a problem in pockets of the country.” Across the nation though, anemia and iodine deficiency incidence is declining, she said.

According to Acuin, household food intake patterns in the country have started to change for the worse.

While the typical Filipino meal is still rice, fish, and vegetables, the FNRI’s surveys have shown “an increasing trend for meat and poultry” but also “a declining trend for fruits and vegetables.” Filipinos, she said, are eating less and less fruits and vegetables on account of price, supply, and availability concerns.

Filipinos are eating “more energy-dense food”, Acuin added, but still the consumption of recommended energy is low for 30 percent of households, and even among the wealthy who can afford energy-dense food, “only 40 percent are meeting energy requirements.”

So is there a food emergency situation in the country? Acuin’s summary observations are gloomy. She said: “Food intakes, in general, are inadequate” and an “inequitable distribution of food resources” persists.

“Ang mga kundisyon na ito ay hindi bago, matagal na ito… Kung pagbabasehan yung Millennium Development Goals, wala pagbabago mula noong mga year 2000 ang underweight prevalence natin in children. Samantala, yung overweight at obesity sa adults ay tumataas,” Acuin said. [These conditions are not new. If we base it on the Millennium Development Goals, underweight prevalence among children has been steady since 2000. Meanwhile, overweight and obesity in adults are on the rise.]

Bernadette Balamban, Poverty and Human Development Statistics chief of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) offered insights on how malnutrition takes root and derives from poverty.

As of the first half of 2014, PSA showed that a family of five needed at least P6,125 a month on average to meet basic food needs, and at least P8,778 a month on average to meet both basic food and non-food needs. However, still eight of every 100 families earn less than the minimum income to afford even basic food needs.

Meanwhile, Neden Amiel Sarne, Agricultural Commodities Division chief of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said achieving food security “requires investments in strategic programs and policies and putting in place appropriate policies.”

The Philippines’ food policy, he said, “should aim to achieve inclusive access to food while generating long-term sources of productivity and income growth.”

According to Sarne, access and price are the strategic issues. “What matters more to food security is access to food at the household level and at reasonably competitive process.”

Sarne listed “suggested strategies beyond 2016″ to address food security and malnutrition concerns, including:

* “Investments in agriculture and fisheries programs that promote area-based development (in contrast to commodity-based development);

* “Prioritize investments that can increase and sustain productivity;

* “Investments in well-functioning irrigation systems and well-functioning Infrastructure;

* “Investments to increase resilience to climate-risk disasters, as well as to pests and diseases;

* “Promote further productivity enhancement along the entire supply chain, from production to marketing; and

* “Promote greater private sector investments support for agriculture through agri-business schemes such as contract-growing, joint-venture agreements, etc.”

About 150 students, civil society organization leaders, and government representatives attended the forum organized by Greenpeace-Southeast Asia at the UP Bahay ng Alumni in Diliman last week. PCIJ Executive Director Malou Mangahas served as moderator. – With reporting by Vino Lucero, PCIJ, August 2015

PH paradox: Undernourished children, overnourished adults

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UNDERNOURISHED children, overnourished adults — that is “the double burden of malnutrition” that afflicts the Philippines.

A paradox, indeed, in a highly agricultural economy, which should be producing food in abundance. To this day, however, many Filipinos do not have access to proper nutrition and adequate food supply, government data show.

In fact, according to Dr. Cecilia S.Acuin of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), the Philippines confronts a “double burden of malnutrition” – under-nutrition among children and overnutrition among adults.

She cited sad figures.

* Among Filipinos aged 0 to 5, one of every five (20 percent) is underweight; one of every three (30 percent) is under-height or does not meet the ideal height for their age; and 8 percent are “wasted” or underweight for their height.

* Among Filipinos aged 20 and above, one of every three (31 PERCENT) is overweight or obese; one of every five (22 percent) “have high waist circumference”; and three of every five (62 percent) have high waist-hip ratio.

The over-nutrition of Filipino adults, she said, has resulted from a bad combination of “increasing physical inactivity” and “poor diet” — the low intake of fruits and vegetables and the increasing intake of “energy-dense food.”

Acuin, at a forum organized last week by Greenpeace-Southeast Asia on the theme “Is there is a Food Emergency in the Philippines?” said that this double burden of malnutrition has led to micronutrient deficiencies.

These include anemia, which remains “a problem in vulnerable population groups” like children and pregnant and lactating women, as well as iodine-deficiency disorders, which are “a problem in pockets of the country.” Across the nation though, anemia and iodine deficiency incidence is declining, she said.

According to Acuin, household food intake patterns in the country have started to change for the worse.

While the typical Filipino meal is still rice, fish, and vegetables, the FNRI’s surveys have shown “an increasing trend for meat and poultry” but also “a declining trend for fruits and vegetables.” Filipinos, she said, are eating less and less fruits and vegetables on account of price, supply, and availability concerns.

Filipinos are eating “more energy-dense food”, Acuin added, but still the consumption of recommended energy is low for 30 percent of households, and even among the wealthy who can afford energy-dense food, “only 40 percent are meeting energy requirements.”

So is there a food emergency situation in the country? Acuin’s summary observations are gloomy. She said: “Food intakes, in general, are inadequate” and an “inequitable distribution of food resources” persists.

“Ang mga kundisyon na ito ay hindi bago, matagal na ito… Kung pagbabasehan yung Millennium Development Goals, wala pagbabago mula noong mga year 2000 ang underweight prevalence natin in children. Samantala, yung overweight at obesity sa adults ay tumataas,” Acuin said. [These conditions are not new. If we base it on the Millennium Development Goals, underweight prevalence among children has been steady since 2000. Meanwhile, overweight and obesity in adults are on the rise.]

Bernadette Balamban, Poverty and Human Development Statistics chief of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) offered insights on how malnutrition takes root and derives from poverty.

As of the first half of 2014, PSA showed that a family of five needed at least P6,125 a month on average to meet basic food needs, and at least P8,778 a month on average to meet both basic food and non-food needs. However, still eight of every 100 families earn less than the minimum income to afford even basic food needs.

Meanwhile, Neden Amiel Sarne, Agricultural Commodities Division chief of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said achieving food security “requires investments in strategic programs and policies and putting in place appropriate policies.”

The Philippines’ food policy, he said, “should aim to achieve inclusive access to food while generating long-term sources of productivity and income growth.”

According to Sarne, access and price are the strategic issues. “What matters more to food security is access to food at the household level and at reasonably competitive process.”

Sarne listed “suggested strategies beyond 2016″ to address food security and malnutrition concerns, including:

* “Investments in agriculture and fisheries programs that promote area-based development (in contrast to commodity-based development);

* “Prioritize investments that can increase and sustain productivity;

* “Investments in well-functioning irrigation systems and well-functioning Infrastructure;

* “Investments to increase resilience to climate-risk disasters, as well as to pests and diseases;

* “Promote further productivity enhancement along the entire supply chain, from production to marketing; and

* “Promote greater private sector investments support for agriculture through agri-business schemes such as contract-growing, joint-venture agreements, etc.”

About 150 students, civil society organization leaders, and government representatives attended the forum organized by Greenpeace-Southeast Asia at the UP Bahay ng Alumni in Diliman last week. PCIJ Executive Director Malou Mangahas served as moderator. – With reporting by Vino Lucero, PCIJ, August 2015

UN: World population to hit 8.5B in 2030; India may surpass China

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THE WORLD’S POPULATION is projected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion by 2050, and exceed 11 billion in 2100, according to a new United Nations report.

The report, 2015 Revision of World Population Prospects, the 24th round of official UN population estimates and projections, says India is expected to surpass China as the most populous country in seven years.

Nigeria is also seen to overtake the United States to become the world’s third largest country around 35 years from now.

A UN press advisory noted that the 2015-2050 period, half of the world’s population growth is expected to be concentrated in nine countries: India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, the United States, Indonesia, and Uganda.

Wu Hongbo, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, whose department produced the report said that understanding the demographic changes that are likely to unfold over the coming years “is key to the design and implementation of the new development agenda.”

The UN member-states, the advisory said, are currently in the process of crafting a successor agenda to the landmark Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which wrap up at the end of this year.

A new framework, focused on poverty eradication, social inclusion, and preserving the health of the planet, is set to be adopted at a special UN summit, in New York this September.

According to the report’s projections, “most of the projected increase in the world’s population can be attributed to a short list of high-fertility countries, mainly in Africa, or countries with already large populations.”

“At present, China and India remain the two largest countries in the world, each with more than 1 billion people, representing 19 and 18 per cent of the world’s population, respectively, but by 2022, the population of India is expected to surpass that of China, according to the report’s projection,” it added.

“Among the 10 largest countries in the world currently, one is in Africa (Nigeria), five are in Asia (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan), two are in Latin America (Brazil and Mexico), one is in Northern America (US), and one is in
Europe (Russian Federation),” the UN said.

“Of these,Nigeria’s population, currently the seventh largest in the world, is growing the most rapidly,” said the report.

The report also projected that “by 2050, the populations of six countries are expected to exceed 300 million: China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the United States.”

“And with the highest rate of population growth, Africa is expected to account for more than half of the world’s population growth over the next 35 years,” it added.

During this period, the report said, “the populations of 28 African countries are projected to more than double, and by 2100, 10 African countries are projected to have increased by at least a factor of five: Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Somalia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia.”

“The concentration of population growth in the poorest countries presents its own set of challenges, making it more difficult to eradicate poverty and inequality, to combat hunger and malnutrition, and to expand educational enrolment and health systems, all of which are crucial to the success of the new sustainable development agenda,” said John Wilmoth, Director of the UN’s Population Division.

In contrast to the growth projections, the report noted “a significant ageing of the population in the next several decades” for most regions. These include Europe, where 34 per cent of the population is projected to be over 60 years old by 2050. In Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia, “the population will be transformed from having 11 per cent to 12 per cent of people over 60 years old today to more than 25 per cent by 2050.”

Too, the UN report said, “life expectancy at birth has increased significantly in the least developed countries in recent years.”

The six-year average gain in life expectancy among the poorest countries, from 56 years in 2000-2005 to 62 years in 2010-2015, is roughly double the increase recorded for the rest of the world, the report added.

“While significant differences in life expectancy across major areas and income groups are projected to continue, they are expected to diminish significantly by 2045-2050,” the UN said.