Fight against malnutrition continues

By DONA LAVARES, RAFI intern
July 11, 2013

CEBU CITY – Malnutrition, despite advances in science and technology and developments in economy, has remained prevalent in Philippine regions.

As the country observes Nutrition Month this July, the National Nutrition Council (NNC) organizes activities geared towards eradicating hunger and malnutrition, in line with this year's theme, “Gutom at Malnutrisyon, Sama-Sama Nating Wakasan”.

This move aims to get public support for the agency's and the nation's fight against the gnawing problem of malnutrition, which is affecting people of all ages, especially in poverty-stricken communities.

In the July 5 episode of Pagtuki, the official radio program of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI), NCC's Susan Orpilla pointed to poverty as the main cause of malnutrition in the country.

"The presence of it (poverty) results to prolong hunger which eventually leads to malnutrition,” Orpilla said.

Malnutrition is a case of bad nutrition and the lack of nutrients in the body.

In the past years, several Negros Oriental towns were recorded of having the highest number of malnutrition cases in Central Visayas. As of 2012, Naga City, south of Cebu ranks first with a 7.66 percent malnutrition rate.

“It is depressing to know that Cebu now leads in malnutrition incidence in the entire Region 7. It is a big challenge for all Cebuanos to aggressively combat malnutrition,” Orpilla stressed.

As malnutrition affects Filipinos not just in Central Visayas but all over the country, NCC and the national government take on a massive nationwide approach in educating the public on how to mitigate hunger and malnutrition.

“There is an integrated and collaborative nutrition education for all especially for health workers...and feeding programs in a span of three months (sometimes called as the 'supplementary feeding')," Orpilla shared.

Another government program, Agri-Pinoy aims to improve agricultural livelihood and provide solution to food shortage, with the end view of alleviating poverty and hunger.

Putting a stop to a large-scale problem harrowing the country could be done right at the core, to the smallest unit of a society, the family. It is in the home where basic needs, such as food, are expected to be met.

According to Orpilla, “every member of the family must fulfill the four As needed to fight against malnutrition – availability, accessibility, adequacy, and affordability to safe and nutritious foods.”

She further explained that taking in the right amount and proportion of each food group – energy-giving, body-building, and nutritious foods – makes achieving a healthy body easier.

“If only students choose the right kind of food and parents are ready to prepare nutritious food for their children, then there will come a time that no more child is left malnourished,” she concluded.