Iloilo — The Provincial Health Office of Iloilo is urging local government units (LGUs) to make health and nutrition a priority in their agendas to continue progress against malnutrition, following encouraging results from recent health measures.
According to Philippines News Agency, who spoke in an interview on Tuesday, the inclusion of these programs in local nutrition plans and the allocation of dedicated budgets are crucial for sustaining gains. Data from the Iloilo Provincial Health Office indicates a decrease in malnutrition rates due to the 2023 Operation Timbang Plus (OPT), which assessed the nutritional status of children across the province.
The OPT program evaluated around 82.4 percent of the targeted 148,902 children aged zero to 59 months from Iloilo's 42 municipalities and a component city. Results from this survey showed reductions in underweight, wasting, stunting, and overweight conditions among children. Specifically, the prevalence of underweight children decreased to 2.44 percent from 3.47 percent in 2020, wasting dropped to 1.1 percent from 2.12 percent, stunting to 4.84 percent from 8.73 percent, and overweight children to 2.26 percent from 3.30 percent.
Despite these gains, certain areas in Iloilo still face challenges with malnutrition. The town of Badiangan reported the highest incidence of underweight children at 9.61 percent, while San Miguel recorded the highest incidence of wasted children at 4.21 percent.
Dr. Marcelo expressed optimism for further improvements through collaboration with the National Nutrition Council (NNC) on the ongoing 2024 OPT. He highlighted the NNC's "Tutok Kainan" dietary supplementation program, designed to combat malnutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child's life, as a pivotal strategy for enhancing early child development.
Adding to the conversation, Iloilo Provincial Health Office chief Dr. Maria Socorro Quiñon emphasized the urgency of tackling malnutrition, which she described as an intergenerational issue, during the 50th Nutrition Month kick-off ceremony at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol. "We should address it right now, or else it will continue to the next generation," she stated.