PALO, LEYTE -- Achieving the goal to reduce the malnutrition rate for Eastern Visayas can be achieved within the period set under a United Nations-led program, an official said.
As of last year, 79,287 children, or 15% of the children in Eastern Visayas, were still considered malnourished, said Carina Z. Santiago, National Nutrition Council regional coordinator.
Under the Millennium Development Goals, the target is to reduce malnutrition prevalence to 10% by 2015.
The malnutrition rate in the region has consistently declined, Ms. Santiago said, from 22% in 2002 to 20.15% in 2007 and further to 15% last year, with the goal expected to be met by improving capacities at the local level.
“That is still possible [decrease the rate of malnourished children to 10% by 2015] with all the efforts done by the national government to build the capability of local government units to curb the problem,” Ms. Santiago said.
Of the 528,593 preschool children weighed last year, 60,960 were identified as underweight and 18,327 were classified as severely underweight. The region posted a 15% malnutrition prevalence, a little lower than the 15.73% rate recorded in 2010.
Ms. Santiago said municipalities in Samar and Northern Samar were still in the list of top 10 nutritionally poor municipalities in the region as of last year.
Catbalogan City in Samar ranked first in terms of high percentage of underweight children with 27.75%
followed by Samar province (21.54%), Northern Samar (17.69%), Leyte (15.73%), Borongan City in Eastern Samar (14.05%), Biliran (13.11), Ormoc City in Leyte (12.57%), Eastern Samar (11.83%), Calbayog City in Samar (11.76%), Tacloban City in Leyte (9.88%), Southern Leyte (7.95%), and Maasin City in Southern Leyte (5.03%).
“Majority of municipalities in the region have shown an improvement, which contributed to the better regional performance last year,” Ms. Santiago said.
Top performers were Limasawa, Southern Leyte; Anahawan, Southern Leyte; Llorente, Eastern Samar; San Juan, Southern Leyte; Tomas Oppus, Southern Leyte; Silago, Southern Leyte; Liloan, Southern Leyte; Hinunangan, Southern Leyte; Taft, Eastern Samar; and Balangiga, Eastern Samar.
Listed as top 10 nutritionally poor towns were San Jorge, Samar; Silvino Lobos, Northern Samar; San Jose de Buan, Samar; San Sebastian, Samar; Jipapad, Eastern Samar; Matuguinao, Samar; Pagsanghan, Samar; Sto. Niño, Samar; Paranas, Samar; and Zumarraga, Samar.
Among the initiatives to combat malnutrition are the organization of breastfeeding support group, Pabasa sa Nutrisyon, feeding for day care children, monitoring of pregnant women, proper complementary feeding for babies six months and older, and vegetables production. -- Sarwell Q. Meniano
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