ILOILO CITY (PIA) – The Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) has urged the different local government units (LGUs) in the province to prioritize and give a substantial budget for their local nutrition programs to address the malnutrition problem in the community.
IPHO head Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon made the call in a press conference on July 9 as part of the Nutrition Month celebration of the provincial government where she noted that it there should be a collective effort in the province’s goal to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition conditions like stunting, wasting, overweight, and undernutrition.
“We are enjoining all LGUs nga dapat may budget gid sa ila Local Nutrition Action Plan para ma-address ini kay bal-an ta man nga stunted body will lead to stunted brain, stunted life. Amu na dapat subong address ta na or else, this will continue to the next generation,” Quiñon said.
The PHO chief added that sustainable nutrition projects needed substantial funding, noting that the provincial government is ready to augment efforts through their different partners, such as the National Nutrition Council (NNC), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and Department of Agriculture (DA).
Dr. Wendel Marcelo, province’s Nutrition Action Officer, on the other hand, said that combating malnutrition issues needed a holistic approach, which not just centered on the provision of food, but also giving programs that could improve the health and socio-economic status of families.
He highlighted as well the interventions conducted by different stakeholders that contribute to the ongoing decline of malnutrition status in Iloilo, such as the Mingo Meals Nutrition Program of the Negrense Volunteers for Change Foundation, the Philippine Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Project (PMNP) of the Department of Health, the Tutok Kainan Dietary Supplementation Program of the National Nutrition Council (NNC), and the nutrition initiatives of the Department of Education (DepEd).
Data from the IPHO indicated that the incidence of stunting decreased from 8.73 percent in 2020 to 4.84 percent in 2023, while the incidence of wasting decreased from 2.12 percent in 2020 to 1.11 percent in 2023.
Similarly, data from the PHO also showed a decline in underweight prevalence from 3.47 percent in 2020 to 2.44 percent in 2023; while the incidence of overweight also dropped from 3.30 percent to 2.26 percent. (AAL/JNH/PIA Iloilo)
