San Jose, Antique – Malnutrition rate in the province has decreased from 12.78% last year to 10.32% this year according to the report of the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO).
Gov. Exequiel B. Javier when informed of the latest malnutrition status of the province was overjoyed. “Mayad nga result dya kang atun kampanya sa malnutrisyon. This is a sign that we are working to remove the stigma of being number 1 in region VI and number 2 in the country. Nalipay gid ako sa dya nga development.”
It would be recalled that upon knowing that Antique was ranked number 2 in the country and number 1 in Region VI with high incidence of malnutrition, Gov. Javier immediately called health sectors in the province to give due attention to this problem.
As such, the provincial government has allotted P5 M for malnutrition rehabilitation for 2011. The Governor is optimistic that at the end of his first term Antique will be erased from the list of provinces with the high incidence of malnutrition.
The governor added that despite the decrease, the provincial government of Antique will never stop in its campaign to combat malnutrition in the province, instead will double its effort until this problem is totally solved.
Provincial Nutrition Action Officer Nida Pallon said that the decrease in malnutrition cases is due to the seriousness of Gov. Javier and other government officials in the campaign to lessen if not eliminate malnutrition in Antique
She further that the decrease of 2.46% means that the government and other sectors’ intervention to combat malnutrition in the province is effective.
Among the interventions that are being initiated by the government and NGOs is the series of feeding programs among LGU’s which has the highest prevalence of malnutrition. For instance, in Sibalom and Hamtic the Positive Deviance Heart Approach was introduced. This is a 12-day feeding on site (in the Barangay Nutrition Center) and 12-day feeding at home. During the feeding at home, the mother is observed and evaluated by the Barangay Health Workers. Apart from the feeding, the parents especially the mothers are taught of Basic Nutrition. In Tobias Fornier, the DOST-PINOY approach was pioneered wherein malnourished children are fed by ready mixed food from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) in 120 days. The beneficiaries of the feeding programs are the severe underweighted and the underweighted child ages 6-35 months. The programs are being replicated in other towns in the province.
The municipality of Caluya which was ranked number 2 in Antique for having the highest number of malnourished children in 2010 shows a significant decrease this year. Almost ½ of the malnutrition cases was reduced compare last year. While Hamtic, despite interventions of NGOs and government, the incidence increased this year, making the town number 1 for having the highest prevalence of malnutrition. The increase of the malnutrition rate in Hamtic, according to Pallon, can be attributed to poverty which results to the failure of the parents to feed nutritious food to their children after the feeding by the benefactor was completed on site.
In the recent interview with Provincial Health Officer Dr. Ric Noel Naciongayo, he said that solving malnutrition in Antique is a big challenge by which every Antiqueño should participate and cooperate. He further that the government cannot solve it alone, it needs help from other sectors in the community.
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