Oro malnutrition rate now only 1.75%

The malnutrition rate in Cagayan de Oro has significantly decreased from 3.73 percent in 2017 to only 1.75 percent in 2018, records from the City Health office showed.

According to the City Nutrition Office, the significant decrease is attributed mainly to the decrease of the stunting problem or the growth problem among the 1 to 5 year old children.

Of the 99,000 children in the city, about 65,000 of them were checked and weighed by Barangay Nutrition Scholars.

It can be recalled that the city Government bagged a Green Banner Award for its efficient nutrition program management.

Nenita Rabe of the nutrition office said this is a big leap for the city government’s

campaign in finally ending malnutrition in the city.

Rabe attributed this achievement to all the city’s barangay nutrition health workers which she said are tirelessly working despite the challenges.

One of the city’s programs to put an end to malnutrition is encouraging households to practice food gardening.

The city has launched the Urban Container Gardening, participated by almost all urban barangays.

According to the National Nutrition Council, food gardening prevents micronutrient deficiency, provides a diverse diet, reduces food insecurity, and increases consumption of fruits and vegetables.

With the home gardening, impoverished families are taught to feed themselves by planting their own vegetables with their own, sometimes limited, space, thus lessening food security.

The container gardening is already successful in Barangays 1-40, and the next step, is reaching out to Barangays Consolacion, Nazareth, and Macabalan where malnutrition is still prevalent.