CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY--The Department of Health in Region 10 (DOH-10) said it will further strengthen the “Nutriskwela” program, following the survey results revealing that at least two provinces exceeded the 12 percent “alarming rate” of malnutrition prevalence in Northern Mindanao.
In a report, DOH-10 Medical Officer III Dr. Elma C. Oclarit said that the agency has observed that a number of malnourished children in Lanao del Norte and Bukidnon showed signs of wasting syndrome.
This has prompted a massive nutrition information drive in the two provinces, through the “NuriSkwela” Community Radio program concept, with the initiative of the National Nutrition Council (NNC), a conduit of DOH, Oclarit said.
Oclarit said the Nutriskwela Community Radio Network Program of the National Nutrition Council was born out of a need for a long-term and cost-efficient strategy to address the problem of hunger and malnutrition in the Philippines through the use of radio–the most available form of mass media.
The Nutriskwela Community Radio Network Program involves the setting up of non-profit, non-partisan community radio stations, and the training of broadcast personnel in areas of the country with high malnutrition prevalence, and which do not have easy access to broadcast media.
Nutriskwela Community Radio aims to empower the community through the dissemination of correct, relevant and up-to-date nutrition and health information, as well as educational and developmental information from all relevant sectors of the community, government agencies, and non-government organizations.
In Region 10, Kalilangan town in Bukidnon pioneered the Nutriskwela radio concept in 2008 through “Radyo Kalilang” and the town of Tubod in Lanao del Norte Province followed next on 2013 when they put up “Radyo Kalambuan.” ( Ercel Maandig /PIO/PNA)
