High stunting rates recorded in 10 Cordillera towns

BAGUIO CITY: The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) office of the National Nutrition Council (NNC-CAR) reported that 10 towns in four provinces in the region recorded high stunting rates among children that warrant appropriate interventions from concerned government agencies and local governments.

Based on the data obtained from the NNC-CAR, Paracelis in Mountain Province topped the municipalities with the highest stunting among children in terms of magnitude with 557, followed by Flora, Apayao, with 172; Pilar, Abra, 117; Sadanga, Mountain Province, 113; Tanudan, Kalinga, 103; Licuan-Baay, 74; Besao, Mountain Province, 65; Tineg, Abra, 62; Malibcong, Abra, 46; and San Isidro, Abra, with 40.

In terms of prevalence, Licuan-Baay, Abra, topped the list with a prevalence rate of 26.71 percent, followed by Malibcong, Abra, with a rate of 26.59 percent; Sadanga, Mountain Province, 26.43 percent; Pilar, Abra, 21.08 percent; Paracelis, Mountain Province, 20.11 percent; Tineg, Abra, 18.08 percent; Tanudan, Kalinga, 16.43 percent; Besao, Mountain Province, 14.71 percent; San Isidro, Abra, 14.29 percent; and Flora, Apayao, 13.82 percent.

On the other hand, the NNC-CAR also reported the top five barangay (villages) in Baguio City with the highest prevalence of underweight plus severely underweight based on the weight for age as a result of the Operation Timbang.

Quezon Hill Proper topped the list with a prevalence rate of 13.33 percent followed by Ferdinand Marcos barangay with a rate of 7.63 percent; Baguio General Hospital (BGH) Compound, 7.46 percent; Lourdes Subdivision Extension, 6.02 percent; Upper Rock Quarry, 6.02 percent; and Palma-Urbano, 5.77 percent.

In terms of magnitude, or the number of children that are underweight plus severely underweight, Irisan topped the list with 50, followed by Fairview with 28; Asin Road barangay with 17; Gibraltar and San Luis Village with 11 each; and Ferdinand Marcos barangay with nine.

Quezon Hill Proper topped the list of the city’s top five barangay with high prevalence of stunting among children composed of stunted and severely stunted based on the height for age with a prevalence rate of 17.78 percent, followed by Lourdes Subdivision Extension with 16.8; Palma-Urbano, 15.38; Santa Escolastica Village, 15.07; and BGH Compound, 11.94 percent.

In terms of magnitude in the same classification, Irisan topped the list with 66, followed by Fairview with 35; St. Joseph Village and San Luis Village with 19 each; Gibraltar, 18; Lourdes Subdivision Extension, 4; and Asin Road barangay, 13.