PH Secures $178.1 Million Loan from World Bank

On Thursday, the World Bank approved a loan to the Philippines amounting to $178.1 million. The government plans to allocate the funds to support a “multisectoral nutrition project” in the country. This project, led by the Social Welfare and Health departments, aims to mitigate nutritional deficiency in infants and young children.

According to the international financial institution, the project will deploy “high-impact” nutrition interventions, particularly for pregnant women and children below two years of age. Among these interventions are the provision of supplements as well as regular growth monitoring and treatment. Additionally, targeted information campaigns will be launched and grants for local government units will be performance-based. Around 235 communities, especially those with high cases of malnutrition, will benefit from the project.

At the moment, the World Bank is yet to disclose the interest rate and terms of payment for the loan. World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand Ndiamé Diop noted that the Philippines’ high cases of undernutrition could prove to be detrimental to children in terms of opportunities.

“Where healthy children can do well in school and look forward to a prosperous future, stunted children tend to be sickly, learn less, more likely to drop out of school and their economic productivity as adults can be clipped by more than 10 percent in their lifetime,” Diop elaborated. “Improving the nutritional status of children is key to the country’s goals of boosting human capital while strengthening the country’s economic recovery and prospects for long-term growth.”

The World Bank, in a report published in June 2021, ranked the Philippines fifth in East Asia and the Pacific when it comes to the prevalence of stunting. According to the report, the Philippines failed to address its undernutrition problem for close to three decades. In 2019, it was noted that one in three children below five years of age suffered from stunting. The international financial institution believes that food and nutrition security within the country could worsen in light of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Source: PhilStar