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TACLOBAN CITY -- A motorcade at 8:00 o’ clock in the morning set off this year’s regional launching of 44th Nutrition Month celebration carrying the theme “Ugaliing magtanim, Sapat na nutrisyon aanihin!” Around 40 vehicles from participating government agencies and stake holders, each flying the nutrition month theme convoyed starting from the Leyte Provincial Capitol grounds passing along main thoroughfare Rizal Avenue, going north through Anibong-Naganaga-Nulatula Road up to Maharlika Highway where it ended at Granja de Reyna in Bagacay Village, this city, where the program and celebration activities unfolded on July 3, 2013.
Read more: 44th Regional Nutrition Month Celebration kicks off
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CARIGARA, Leyte -- Malnutrition is directly linked to poverty, but not the case in this town, where children from high income families are on the list of the town’s most underweight.
Rosalyn Securata, 29, was not surprised to hear that her three-year-old son Chris Lawrence only gained a weight of 9.6 kilograms, way below than the ideal 13 to 15 kilograms for his age.
Her common-law husband, Almar Dabon, is not a poor man in the town's populated West Visoria village dotted with makeshift houses. The fisherman earns PHP300 to PHP1,500 daily, more than the PHP200 average daily income of pedicab drivers in their community.
Rosalyn, a high school dropout, admitted that their small family is capable of buying nutritious food, but her son’s taste bud limits their food choices.
Read more: Malnutrition among kids from 'not poor' Leyte families alarming
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“YES to licensing of Health Establishment and STOP the proliferation of unregistered health products in the market” was a resounding commitment expressed by participants during the Consumer Protection Advocacy Forum on FDA Licensing and Registration Requirements for Local Chief Executives and Partner Agencies cascaded on 24 May 2018 at the Hotel Estrella, Tacloban City by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
With the promise to do personal share to put an end to the problem of health establishments operating without a License To Operate (LTO) and the spread of unregistered/counterfeit health products in Eastern Visayas, FDA Director General Nela Charade G. Puno, asked to work hand in hand to ensure safe, efficient and quality health products to the public.
Read more: FDA Advocates Consumer Protection in Eastern Visayas
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CARIGARA, Leyte -- Malnutrition is directly linked to poverty, but not the case in this town, where children from high income families are on the list of the town’s most underweight.
Rosalyn Securata, 29, was not surprised to hear that her three-year-old son Chris Lawrence only gained a weight of 9.6 kilograms, way below than the ideal 13 to 15 kilograms for his age.
Her common-law husband, Almar Dabon, is not a poor man in the town's populated West Visoria village dotted with makeshift houses. The fisherman earns PHP300 to PHP1,500 daily, more than the PHP200 average daily income of pedicab drivers in their community.
Rosalyn, a high school dropout, admitted that their small family is capable of buying nutritious food, but her son’s taste bud limits their food choices.
“What can I do if my son has no appetite to eat any fish and vegetables? I don’t want him to go hungry that’s why I always prepare his favorite food -- instant noodles, fried chicken, and hotdogs,” Rosalyn shared.
The mother practiced exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of her baby, but the child was not provided with proper supplemental foods, nutrition workers concluded.
Maria Belinda Alberca, head of the local nutrition office in Carigara town, said on Monday the child already missed the so-called “golden window of opportunity” of children.
The first 1,000 days, which starts from conception until the child reaches his or her second birthday, is considered globally as the “golden window of opportunity” to build a person’s foundation for physical growth, mental development, health and economic productivity, according to experts.
In Libo village, one of the most malnourished children is nine-year-old Akisha Veronica Louisse, raised by well-educated Rina Rhea, a single mother from a well-to-do family.
Her mother, a local government employee, is unfazed to learn that her kid only weighs 17 kilograms, just a little over half of the ideal weight of 30 kilograms for a Grade 4 learner. “I’m not worried because I was also tiny when I was a kid.”
In contrast, Akisha’s teacher, Sonia Rendora of Cassidy Elementary School was bothered by the child’s performance inside the classroom. “This child is bright, but her attention span is very short and sometimes she fell asleep even before the end of the first subject,” the teacher shared.
Catalino Dotollo, National Nutrition Council (NNC) regional program coordinator, has expressed concern that some children not from poor families suffer food insecurity, citing that consequences of improper feeding are irreversible.
“Their caretakers are primarily responsible to make sure that they’re getting the right food after exclusive breastfeeding,” Dotollo told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Monday.
The official is worried of the consequence of malnutrition to education. “In the first two years of life, a child’s brain forms 1,000 new neural connections per second. This pace of development is never repeated again in life. Reduced cognitive development is largely irreversible,” he said.
The two children are among the 366 underweight children, representing 18.10 percent of all children covered by weighing activities.
Alberca is not convinced about the two mothers’ justification as she believes that feeding children requires discipline and determination.
“If the child is used to eating nutritious food six months after birth, it’s not hard to continue proper feeding practices in the first 1,000 days of life and beyond,” Alberca said.
With its limited resources, the local nutrition office, which shares a room with the town’s population office, has been conducting information drive among mothers in 49 villages.
One main activity is the “Pabasa sa Nutrisyon” an information-sharing type of activity that targets breastfeeding mothers, pregnant women and mothers of malnourished children to teach them the proper selection and preparation of affordable and nutritious food.
This activity is being led by barangay (village) nutrition scholars, among the low-paying community workers, receiving only PHP300 to PHP500 monthly.
Carigara, the oldest settlement in Leyte province, is a second-class town in central Leyte. In 2016, the town generated PHP125.32-million income with PHP102.68 million as share from the national government’s internal revenue allotment.
Alberca said that although the budget for nutrition program is very minimal, they have been linking with other agencies with activities that could help improve nutrition status of children such as agriculture, upgraded infrastructure, employment, and education. (http://www.pna.gov.ph by Sarwell Meniano, HIMSoG member)
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Palo, Leyte – The Provincial/City Nutrition Action Officers and District/City Nutrition Program Coordinators in the region met to further strengthen nutrition program implementation at the PopCom Conference Room on May 17, 2018.
One of the items thoroughly discussed by the nutrition officers was on the status updates for the Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS). BNSs assistance in the form of medical and survivorship assistance was shared. Though the two types of assistances were already provided in 2014, a revised and more specific guidelines was released in 2017. Aside from the assistance that BNSs received from NNC Central Office in the amount of PhP100.00 per month, a BNS can now receive PhP5,000.00 for one-time per year medical assistance and survivorship assistance for the BNS immediate member of the family in the amount of PhP20,000 for any cause of death. The said assistance is already a big help to the BNS and his/her immediate family according to DCNPC President Nilda Rich.
Read more: Nutrition Officers: Be more connected in nutrition advocacies
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Palo, Leyte-“The sustained support and commitment expressed by the various stakeholders promises a successful celebration of this year’s nutrition month and the realization of our efforts to accelerate and improve the overall health and nutrition status of our children and the entire people in Eastern Visayas,” said by the Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator Dr. Catalino P. Dotollo, Jr. during the Nutrition Month (NM) Stakeholders Meeting, held on 19 June 2018, at the PopCom Conference Room, PopCom Compound, Government Center, Palo, Leyte.
Said expression came after the nutrition stakeholders from the local government units, non-government organizations, civil society organizations, among others, conveyed their support and participation to the month-long activities which will be highlighted with motorcade and launching activities, thematic talks, nutri-contests, and food garden advocacies.
Read more: Nutrition stakeholders ready for whole month celebration
