Samar towns top lists of undernourished areas

PALO, Leyte, Dec. 6  --Towns in Samar province dominated the list of nutritionally-depressed areas in Eastern Visayas region due to high poverty incidence.

Speaking to hundreds of stakeholders on Wednesday, National Nutrition Council (NNC) senior nutrition officer Niño Archie Labordo said 14 out of the top 30 towns with many severely malnourished children are in Samar province.

Top on the list is the remote town of Matuginao, Samar where 29 percent of children are categorized as severely undernourished, a serious condition among pre-school children.

Also listed in the top 30 nutritionally depressed areas in Samar province are Gandara, Jiabong, San Jose de Buan, Paranas, Santa Margarita, Santa Rita, San Sebastian, Villareal, Zumarraga, Basey, Pagsanghan, Santo Niño, and Tagapul-an.

Malnutrition prevalence is as high as 24 percent in the areas, according to the NNC’s 2016 official weighing report.

Samar nutrition officials are unavailable for comments during the gathering.

“The high incidence of malnutrition calls for more serious actions to save the children from irreversible effects of under nutrition. On our part, we will strengthen our coordination with concerned local government officials in these areas,” Labordo said.

Also included in the top 30 areas are Babatngon, Burauen, Calubian, San Miguel, Abuyog, Palo, MacArthur, Carigara, Pastrana in Leyte; San Policarpio, Jipapad, Oras, Can-avid, and San Julian in Eastern Samar; Silvino Lobos in Northern Samar; and Naval in Biliran.

Malnutrition, according to the World Health Organization, refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy or nutrients.

The term malnutrition covers two broad groups of conditions. One is undernutrition -- which includes stunting (low height for age), wasting (low weight for height), underweight (low weight for age) and micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies (lack of important vitamins and minerals).

The NNC asked local government units to carry out the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition ‎2017-2022, the country's blueprint to combat malnutrition.

The plan consists of 12 programs and 46 projects serving as a framework for actions that could be undertaken by member agencies of the NNC, other national government agencies, local government units, non-government organizations, academic institutions, and development partners. (SQM/With reports from Mary Fatima Berongoy, OJT/PNA)