Access to education, nutrition vital to peace-building efforts

Many people have always equated peace with arms and violence or the lack of it, but peace builders in the Davao Region equate peace with other factors too including access to education and nutrition.
“Nutrition is a right and for as long as there is hunger there will never be peace,” National Nutrition Council 11 regional chief Ma.Teresa Ungson said yesterday during a press conference held at SM City Davao.
On the other hand, Maya Flaminda J. Vandenbroeck, co-founder of the Tuburan Institute, Inc. said “the best way to start peace is to make education accessible to everyone regardless of religion and language.”
The Nutrition Council and Tuburan Institute are just two of the government organizations, non government organizations and other groups participating in the Davao Peace Fair which will be held at SM Annex on September 21 this year. Other related events that will be held during the Peace Fair are the Peace Circle and the Peace Concert also in the same venue.
“This is the first time for a large group like this to group together for peace and we hope it will be the start of a more comprehensive peace plan that will culminate into a peace conference,” Ungson said.
The Philippine Army, one of the organizations participating in the Peace Fair, has committed to continue its peace efforts specifically through the Peace and Development Program of the 10th Infantry Brigade. Under the Program, the priority of the soldiers has shifted from combat operation to meeting the needs of the communities where they operate.
Ungson said the local government units in the Davao Region are working together to improve the nutrition level in the region. From a high prevalence rate of 20% years ago, Southern Mindanao’s underweight prevalence rate has gone down below the 10% rate.
NNC XI data shows an underweight prevalence rate of only 6.20% for children zero to 71 months old for 2011.The lowest prevalence rate is in Tagum City with 3.54%, followed by Panabo City with 3.97%, Mati City with 4.42%, Island Garden City of Tagum with 5.25% and Davao City with 5.26%.[LAC]