Rotary Club of Manila president Rafael Alunan is batting for the leveraging of Rotary's global influence in hosting at the soonest possible time a virtual peacebuilding and conflict resolution town hall meeting on the urgent need for restraint and a return to reason before Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Indo-Pacific slides to total war.

"The target audience of such meeting would be leaders of warring nations, and the overarching message will be: Pull back and reset relations to save mankind's future," he said in his address as guest speaker of the Rotary Club of Davao which marked its 85th anniversary last week.

Alunan said he pitched the idea to the Centennial Circle of Rotary Clubs in Melbourne last May and followed through with Rotary International President-elect Stephanie Urchick who was in Manila earlier this month.

"My inspiration is drawn from the native Americans of the Onondaga nation who, whenever they come together to decide on vital matters with long-term implications, consider the costs and benefits up to the seventh generation," explained Alunan.

Pressing issues

The RC Manila president also used the occasion to discuss with his confreres in RC Davao some other equally pressing issues currently preoccupying his time and attention.

These include the national campaign to end malnutrition and stunted development among Filipino children which he said is being spearheaded by the Management Association of the Philippines as lead convenor.

Over 80 coalition partners have signed up with the MAP-led campaign including various Rotary Clubs.

Underscoring the problem of malnutrition, Alunan cited global non-profit organization, The Hunger Project which estimates that 33 percent of Filipino children below five years old are malnourished due to extreme poverty and basic ignorance of health matters by parents.

He also referred to statistics by the United Nations Children's Fund which reveal that 95 children in the country die from malnutrition daily; 3.6 million Filipino children aged five and below are underweight while some four million are stunted, or short for their age. "Stunting after two years of age can be permanent, irreversible and even fatal," Alunan said.

He continued, "Twenty-seven of 1,000 children don't get past their fifth birthday. Those who do make it face an uncertain future. Apart from high rates of stunting and neonatal deaths, low routine immunization coverage and lack of access to clean water and sanitation facilities also threaten our children's survival and development."

"Related to this is iodine deficiency which has a huge impact on the learning abilities and IQ of children. The average intelligence quotient of children in the Philippines is 81.64 and ranks 106th in terms of average IQ. An IQ score between 85 and 100 on a standardized IQ test is considered average," he said

Help stem slide to bottom

Alunan stressed that he "really believes in this initiative (the MAP-led national campaign against malnutrition and stunted growth); we cannot build our nation when our people are getting dumber. These are the people that end up in our work force. We must help to stem our slide to the bottom."

As such, the RC Manila head said that he had asked  MAP president Benedicta du Baladad who is also a Rotary member, to invite all 10 Rotary District Governors  in the country to mobilize the entire Rotary in the Philippines to undertake an all-out effort to end malnutrition and stunting among Filipino children.

"Our participation, whether it is in education and awareness building, strategic policy reforms or interventions, is very much needed in 12 regions and in at least 6,600 barangays under 235 municipalities," Alunan said.

"The future of our children and our country should matter to all of us; each of us is called to action and help save a generation. Being the stewards of our future generations, dealing with child stunting is a shared responsibility," he continued.

Before he ended his address, Alunan told members and officers of RC Davao that he is also pursuing projects that will benefit Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs, and those affected by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders. "Both fall under the banner of Mental Health which is being championed by Rotary International President Gordon McInally," he said.

Alunan shared that the two subjects are "close to my heart."

Incurable

First, he said, "there are five Persons With Disabilities in my family; two have autism spectrum disorders; two have muscular dystrophy; one has Parkinson's and mood disorder which are medically-related. All are incurable."

Second, Alunan went on, "I know people who suffer or suffered by PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) — combatants, hostages, victims of natural disaster and/or violence against their persons.

"Their numbers are huge and growing while the numbers of those caring for them are small and are constantly being depleted. So, I've tasked a committee to look into this matter, obtain actionable evidence and propose appropriate courses of action," the RC Manila president said.

Alunan congratulated the RC Club of Davao on its 85th anniversary and invited the Club to initiate projects addressing the causes he discussed. "I'm confident that once RC Davao initiates projects like these under President May Divino's leadership, it will be done successfully and extremely well, to create hope in the world," he said.