SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union (PIA) – While the Philippines faces a stunting rate of 26.7 percent among children under five, Region 1 continues to show progress in reducing child malnutrition through strong grassroots nutrition efforts.
In Ilocos Norte, for example, the prevalence of stunting dropped from 8.9 percent in 2019 to 4.3 percent in 2023, according to the Provincial Nutrition Action Office.
To sustain these gains, the National Nutrition Council (NNC) Region 1 gathered teachers, child development workers, and information officers in a Virtual Regional Nutrition Forum on April 25.
The forum aimed to strengthen local nutrition advocacy under the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) 2023–2028.
Kendall Pilgrim A. Gatan, officer-in-charge and nutrition program coordinator of NNC-1, stressed that solving malnutrition requires improving knowledge and changing habits at the community level.
“One of the strategies we are doing is to promote local behavior change, because the problem stems from the lack of knowledge about nutrition,” Gatan said.
Participants were trained on practical tools like the “10 Kumainments,” “Pinggang Pinoy,” and the First 1,000 Days Program to promote healthy eating practices among families, students, and workers.
Tolentino G. Aquino, regional director of the Department of Education (DepEd) 1, called for continuous action to protect Region 1’s gains, especially as the national figures remain alarming.
“Report reveals that the Philippines has the highest prevalence of under-five years old stunting in the world at 26.7 percent compared to the global average of 22.3 percent,” Aquino said.
He also reminded communities that good nutrition is not about buying expensive or popular food items.
“It should be clarified that good nutrition is not necessarily equated with the price of food, nor popular food products may not really provide the essential nutritional elements that one may require,” he said.
Through strengthened grassroots advocacy, NNC-1 and its partners aim to protect Region 1’s progress and contribute to the national goal of ending all forms of malnutrition by 2028. (CCMT, AIHR/PIA Region 1)
