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Sunday, October 1, 2017
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DO YOU know that the country’s chronic malnutrition rate has increased from 30.3 percent in 2013 to 33.5 percent in 2015, based on the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) data? A study by the international organization Save The Children also showed that one in three Filipino children suffers from stunting.
The basic cause of prevalent diseases suffered by children is malnutrition arising primarily from inadequate food intake. But undernourishment is largely preventable especially with early and effective interventions. The government must strengthen programs that address the country’s worsening state of malnutrition.
We must tackle malnutrition concerns at the grassroots level. Our programs must be community-based and should involve our schools so that the importance of nutrition and health are also inculcated in the minds of our children.
Through the years, several bills have been filed in Congress that aimed at improving the nutritional status of malnourished children. What happened to them? One of these was the Child Nutrition bill which aimed to implement nutrition and health programs in schools and barangay day care centers, consisting of complementary feeding program and other nutrition-related activities. There was also the Gulayan sa Paaralan bill which encouraged all public elementary and secondary schools to conduct simultaneous vegetable gardening activities. We also recalled the Barangay Nutrition Worker bill which would have created the position of barangay nutrition worker in every barangay.
There was an interesting one – the Malunggay Development bill that aimed to spur the production, processing, marketing and distribution of malunggay in suitable areas of the country in order to acquire its benefits. The humble malunggay is a good source of provitamin A, vitamins B and C, and minerals, such as iron, among others. We need to formulate a sustainable framework for the growing of malunggay in every backyard so we can maximize its health, nutritional and other benefits.
The bottom line of all these is to address chronic malnutrition most especially among children. A malnourished population makes a sickly nation. But there is hope. Malnourishment is preventable, and effective intervention starts at grassroots level – in schools and barangays.
A healthy population makes a robust nation.
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