Reuters AlertNet - Mindanao food security still a challenge, says WFP

22 Sep 2009 11:23:56 GMT

Source: IRIN

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MANILA, 22 September 2009 (IRIN) - Food security will continue to remain a key concern for thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) on the southern island of Mindanao, despite moves towards possible peace talks, says the World Food Programme (WFP)."Our main concern is that those who remain IDPs receive the required assistance they need, while those who are able to return to their homes get the same," Stephen Anderson, country representative for the UN food agency, told IRIN in Manila.His comments come a week after the government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) agreed to resume peace talks, brokered by Malaysia.The announcement prompted renewed hope that many IDPs might soon be able to return home, say observers.Negotiations collapsed in August 2008 after the country's Supreme Court declared a preliminary accord on an expanded Muslim autonomous region as unconstitutional, prompting fresh clashes and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in the decades-old conflict between government forces and the 12,000-strong MILF.While many IDPs have since returned home, according to government sources, more than 250,000 remain displaced due to the conflict and are now living in evacuation centres or with host families, the vast majority - 91 percent - in central Maguindanao Province.Early recovery and rehabilitationBut even if security does improve and more people return, many have lost everything, including their homes, property and livelihoods, and will continue to need assistance."If people have been out of their homes for over a year, it's not as though you just return, turn on the light and resume your life," Anderson said, citing the importance of early recovery and rehabilitation efforts."It will be a big challenge to get that geared up," he said, referring to the need for food-for-work programmes and other measures."This protracted period of displacement has put immense pressure on people's livelihoods. It certainly has had a food security impact," he said, noting the difficult time they will have in rebuilding their lives.For at least a few months they will need continued assistance, as well as regular monitoring thereafter, the WFP official said.Poor indicatorsYet conditions in many areas were already precarious before the resumption of the latest violence last year.The longstanding conflict has severely affected the health and nutrition of the people of Mindanao, where infant and maternal mortality rates are 30 percent and 80 percent higher respectively than national levels, and one-third of all children under five are stunted, according to WFP.Educational indicators are far below the national average, with only 33 percent of children completing primary school, compared with 67 percent in the rest of the country.Moreover, various assessments show that 40 percent of parents do not send their children to school, with lack of food cited as a contributing factor, according to WFP.Since August 2008, the UN food agency has supported the government-led relief response, providing 17,500MT of food assistance to affected families.At the height of the displacement, WFP reached some 89,000 families or more than 530,000 people in August/September 2008.ds/mw