MALNUTRITION IN PANGASINAN. Provincial health officer Dr. Anna Teresa De Guzman led the Provincial Nutrition Council Meeting last month. The malnutrition rate in the province decreased from 1.81 percent last year to 1.5 percent this year. (Photo courtesy of Provincial Government of Pangasinan's Facebook page)
LINGAYEN, Pangasinan -- The National Nutrition Council (NCC) has awarded Pangasinan PHP34.40 million in financial aid which will be used to address malnutrition in the province, an official said Friday.
In an interview, Provincial health officer Dr. Anna Teresa de Guzman said the amount will be used for supplemental feeding programs, particularly in the towns that have high volume of malnourished children.
De Guzman said they will also focus on the first 1,000 days of a child, from the mother’s pregnancy up to the second birthday of the child.
“We will give them nutritional foods and vitamins for both the children and pregnant mothers. We are also proposing to Governor Amado Espino III that we come up with a mobile kitchen so that the Provincial Health Office (PHO) can monitor the food being served to the recipients; we will prepare different healthy menu for them,” she noted.
De Guzman said the malnutrition rate in the province decreased from 1.81 percent last year to 1.5 percent this year.
She said the towns of Sto. Tomas, Mapandan, Asingan, Sual, Manaoag, Labrador and Bayambang are listed to have high number of malnourished children.
“Before, we have 10 towns included in the list but now, there are only seven,” she said.
De Guzman said they are particularly addressing stunted growth, which is now considered a sign of malnutrition among Pangasinenses.
“Experts said children that are lacking in nutrition in their first two years will no longer have healthy growth. Unlike if a child is wasting, it can still be reversed by giving nutritious foods, but for stunted growth, it is permanent,” she said.
The PHO will also resume its Kalusugan Caravan in the different towns and cities in the province. (PNA)
