EVALUATION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EARLY WARNING SYSTEM FOR FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY IN THE PROVINCE OF CAMARINES SUR, PHILIPPINES by Arlene R. Reario ABSTRACT Hunger and malnutrition are threats to national security as it seriously affects the group that the state is supposed to protect. With good local governance, the system could be an effective tool to effectively reduce malnutrition and hunger in a community. This study evaluated the implementation of the project “Early Warning System for Food and Nutrition Security (EWS-FNS)” in 6 municipalities of Camarines Sur, specifically in terms of its usefulness as a tool for predicting food and nutrition security. This qualitative study employed the conduct of perception surveys among various stakeholders from the barangay, municipal and provincial levels supplemented with LGU document analysis and key informant interviews (KII) from experts on community assessment or surveillance. Results of the study showed that in at least 3 of the municipalities, EWS-FNS was functional as indicated by the regular collection, processing and analyses of data considered predictive of food insecurity. Information generated by the EWS- FNS was also reported to the Mayor and members of the municipal development council and used as basis for adopting intervention programs to address problems and issues related to hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity. Interventions such as distribution of seeds and seedlings to improve food availability among food insecure households, conduct of supplemental feeding to malnourished preschool children and provision of livelihood programs for poor households were implemented by local government units. Although resources were provided by the LGUs to sustain the monitoring activity and implement the intervention programs, it has been recommended that the budgetary requirement to sustain the operations of the EWS-FNS be integrated in the regular Annual Investment Plan of the municipality to ensure a regular budget to run the system. A legal document such as Executive Order to legitimize the role of the members of the team was also suggested by staff involved in the activity. It is also essential that members of the EWS FNS team should be highly motivated and have a good working relationship to enable them to discuss and analyze results of regular data monitoring for subsequent reporting to the Chief Executive and the local council. It is also recommended that Interventions to address issues on food insecurity should not be limited to provision of safe and adequate food (e.g. feeding program) but means to permanently acquire this such as employment, skills development and market-matching of skills with job creation should be seriously considered. Families who are most vulnerable such as those whose income are below food threshold and whose children suffer from malnutrition should be the priority for such interventions. Access to sufficient and effective health and nutrition services should be made available in the barangay so as to reduce the effects of malnutrition and sickness. The study recommended that regular meetings at the regional level such as the Project Management Committee should be sustained. Barangay Captains should be given feedback on the results of the EWS FNS so appropriate actions may be done by them. Review of existing software, enhancement of the databases or indicators currently collected on EWS-FNS was suggested to be done including adoption of updated software developed by FAO. At the provincial level, Camarines Sur should be involved in the monitoring of EWS-FNS in its municipalities. They may also expand the coverage of EWS-FNS to more municipalities within the province. 1. Introduction The Philippines continues to have problems on nutrition, particularly among children 0- 59 months old. Results of the 2015 Updating of Nutrition Status of Selected Population done by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST) reveal that 21.5% of 0-5 year old children are underweight while 33.4% are stunted or too short for their age, indicating chronic or long standing malnutrition. Moreover, the percent of Filipino children 0-5 years old who are “wasted” or too thin for their height is 7.1% in 2015, a significant reduction from to 8.0% in 2013. MIMAROPA, Eastern Visayas and Bicol are the regions most affected by undernutrition with Bicol region ranking fourth among regions with high prevalence of stunting at 40.2% in this age group. Moreover, based on the Operation Timbang Results generated by the National Nutrition Council (NNC) in 2015, 11.40% of children 0-71 months are underweight, 23.86 % are stunted and 7.86% are wasted in the Bicol region. Among the provinces in her region, Camarines Sur ranked 3rd on undernutrition and stunting at 28.12% and 12.57%, respectively. Likewise, it has the highest magnitude of affected children, with 75,830 stunted and 33,897 underweight children in 2015. The Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) 2011-2016 is the country’s response to malnutrition. The mid-term update of PPAN 2011-2016 indicates that “An appropriate nutrition early warning system will be set up at both national and local levels within the plan period. The system is envisioned to generate key and sensitive indicators that could signal an impending worsening of the nutrition situation to allow timely intervention” (NNC, 2014). In 2009, the Joint Programme on “Ensuring Food Security and Nutrition for children 0- 23 months old”, was implemented by UNICEF, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) with the Early Warning System for Food and Nutrition Security (EWS - FNS) implemented in Ragay, Camarines Sur in 2011 as one of its components. In 2013, this project was expanded to 5 more municipalities in the province of Camarines Sur, particularly in Minalabac, Sipocot, Cabusao, Canaman and Calabanga. This project called for the regular and periodic collection of relevant data such as food production, climate, food prices, nutritional status of children 0-23 months, hunger incidence and diet diversity of households in sentinel barangays to determine status of food supply and food security. The data monitoring system was carried out to warn the municipalities of impending food crisis before it happens or worsens. The information gathered was expected to be utilized for formulating relevant policies and programs to address food and nutrition problems. However, no comprehensive evaluation of the implementation of the program, particularly in the five expansion areas has been done so far. 2. Statement of the Problem The study aims to do an evaluation of the implementation of the project “Early Warning System for Food and Nutrition Security (EWS-FNS)” by the concerned 6 LGUs that have adopted the project. Specifically, the study aims to determine if the EWS-FNS is a useful tool for predicting food and nutrition security in selected municipalities in Camarines Sur. In particular, it will address the following questions: 1. Was the EWS-FNS functional or operational? 2. Were the problems or results identified by the EWS-FNS monitoring used by the local government unit (LGU) to adopt relevant policies or intervention programs? 3. Were resources allocated to sustain the monitoring activity and implement the intervention programs? 3. Objectives of the study The study aims to: A. Determine factors which influenced the functionality of the early warning system on food and nutrition security in the 6 municipalities in terms of: 1. Regular monitoring or collection and analyses of data; 2. Relevance of data monitored for predicting food in security; 3. Reporting results of the EWS-FNS to local chief executives (LCEs) and local councils; and 4. Decisions taken by the local government to address problems and issues, identified by the EWS-FNS, related to hunger and malnutrition. B. Determine the commitment or support provided by the LCEs or municipalities to the EWS-FNS in terms of: 1. Provision of required logistical needs (e.g. office supplies, equipment, transportation allowance to community data collectors) for regular data monitoring; 2. Issuance of a legal instrument (e.g. special order) to make involvement of persons assigned to the EWS-FNS official or a regular part of their jobs; 3. Allocation of resources to implement interventions or action programs recommended by the EWS-FNS Team based on findings. C. Recommend measures to make the EWS-FNS implementation more sustainable and functional. 4. Selected Review of Related Literature According to 1996 World Food Summit, food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. (FAO 1996). The absence of any of the dimensions of food security such as physical availability of food, economic and physical access to food, food utilization and stability of the other three dimensions over time, will result to food insecurity. The graphical representation of these dimensions is shown below as indicated in the UN- FAO Training Manual on Early Warning System on Food and Nutrition Security (FAO 2012): Source: FAO, 2012 Figure 1: Graphical Presentation of Food and Nutrition Security and its Dimensions Food availability in a local area means that food is physically present because it has been grown, manufactured, imported and/or transported there; it tells whether a wide variety of food is available at farms and in local markets. Food access is the way different people obtain the available food either through a combination of home production, stocks, purchase, barter, gifts, borrowing or food aid. Food access is ensured when communities and households and all individuals within them have adequate resources, such as money, to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet. Household or individual access to food depends on the income or resources of the household, the prices of food and the distribution within the household.