CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) — The National Nutrition Council (NNC)-10, in an episode of Talakayan sa PIA up close and personal, shared the importance of local government units prioritizing and investing in social programs such as nutrition.
The challenge of social programs is that they are not tangible, but they shape children into healthy individuals who are going to be the next leaders in the country, said Sheena Marie T. Abellanosa, NNC-10 OIC-nutrition program coordinator.
“We have to challenge the status quo; we have to scale up; we have to see where we can improve in our implementation, so that’s why we have to review what we are doing because we are also talking about government funds, so we also have to see if these programs are effective,” Abellanosa said.
The problem of malnutrition is regionwide.
According to the Expanded National Nutrition Survey (EENS) of the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI), food insecurity stands at 68.7 percent. This means almost 70 percent of the total household is food insecure and does not have access to food all the time.
“That’s a very big number,” said Abellanosa.
According to the same survey, Region 10’s stunting rate for children 0-69 months old or younger than 5 years old is 30.7 percent, or 1 in every 3 children, she added.
Meanwhile, the prevalence of wasting is at 3.4 percent and for underweights around 20 percent in the region, which translates that 1 out of 5 children below 5 years old are underweight for their age.
However, overweight and obesity expand across all life stages, from children below 5 years old to schoolchildren, adolescents, and even adults; the numbers are increasing, Abellanosa said.
The prevalence of overweight and obesity in adults is 38.6 percent, according to EENS of the DOST FNRI. Per province, the highest prevalence of stunting is in Bukidnon Province at 35 percent, and underweight is high in Lanao Del Norte at 21 percent.
For other issues such as wasting, Cagayan de Oro has a 7 percent rate, while Lanao Del Norte has a 5 percent rate, specifically for children aged 0-59 months. According to the National Expanded Nutrition Survey, Camiguin has the highest rate of overweight children.
The government, through the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) 2023-2028, shall address malnutrition problems.
“With PPAN, we are guided on what to do multi-level, from the regional level to go down to the local level as a guide, as these are the priorities for the term so we are going to implement,” Abellanosa shared.
“But we have to make sure that as we follow PPAN, the local government units (LGUs) and the program implementers will ensure that their nutrition programs are responsive, so we always go back to the problem and develop the strategies,” she added.
Presidential Decree 491, also known as the Nutrition Act of the Philippines, signed in 1974, established the National Nutrition Council, or NNC, as the highest policy-making body on nutrition. This same law also mandates the celebration of Nutrition Month every July.
The NNC’s mandate is on formulating nutrition plans, programs, and strategies and coordinating actions across different levels national, regional, and even the local level. Further, NNC formulates policies and coordinates nutrition actions. (JMOR/PIA-10)
