Reg'l Nutrition Committee calls for scaled up action vs malnutrition

CITY

OF SAN FERNANDO -- The Central Luzon Regional Nutrition Committee (RNC) is advocating for scaled up action against malnutrition as it celebrates the 47th National Nutrition Month.

RNC Chairperson and Department of Health (DOH) Regional Director Corazon Flores highlighted the need to focus on regional and local nutrition programs on the first 1,000 days of life which is the most critical stage in the development of a child.

“We all know that while a baby develops inside the womb, it is important that the nutrition of the mother should be taken care of so that the child to be born will be healthy and strong. We believe that the children are our future, and investing for our future means investing in our mothers from the time of the conception of their babies in their wombs,” she said.

With this, Flores encouraged families, local government units, various sectors, and communities in the region to band together in the fight against health deficiencies.

She shared that the RNC has crafted nutrition interventions and programs geared to reduce malnutrition and its triple burden including overnutrition, undernutrition, and hidden hunger especially during the pandemic.

“In the barangay health stations, we are listing down the mothers, and they are being provided proper pre-natal check-ups. We are also encouraging them to get the medicines for micro nutrients in the health centers,” the official said.

The nutrition committee is also promoting facilitybased childbirth delivery, and the implementation of YAKAP wherein once the baby is born, skin-to-skin contact between the mother and child, and immediate breastfeeding is encouraged.

Flores added that the RNC is firm in the implementation of the Milk Code policy which promotes breastfeeding and prevents milk substitutes from replacing breast milk so babies grow healthy.

“We are promoting that we need to take good care of the mothers especially during this time when there is scarcity of food during lockdown. Mothers should be given special attention and proper nutrition. The child must be breastfed for continuous supply of milk,” she said.

The official also urged households to plant basic vegetables in their gardens for additional food supply, and to aid against food sh or t age.

Results of the National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology revealed that the average hunger rate of Filipinos rose to 21 percent, while 53.9 percent are food insecure in 2020.

In the same year, 30.3% or 3.4 million children under five years old suffer from stunting, while 5.6% or 800,000 of kids below five are lowweight-for-height.

This year’s Nutrition Month celebration focuses on the t h e m e “Malnutrisyon Patuloy na Labanan, First 1000 days Tutukan!”