GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The provincial government of South Cotabato is planning to expand its nutrition convergence initiatives this year as it moves to further lower cases of malnutrition in parts of the province.
Ma. Ana Uy, acting head of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO), said Tuesday they were currently evaluating possible expansion areas this year for the local government’s supplemental feeding as well as nutrition education programs.
“Our priorities are remote or far-flung communities with noted high cases of malnutrition, she said.
Based on the local government’s earlier assessment, the towns of T’boli and Lake Sebu have posted high incidence of malnutrition among infants and children.
But overall, Uy said that the province’s malnutrition cases had been dropping consistently these past years.
In 2017, the province received the Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition or CROWN first-year maintenance award for sustaining the reduction of its malnutrition cases.
The official said the local government achieved a 90 percent rating during the monitoring and evaluation of its nutrition programs, eventually qualifying for the award.
South Cotabato has consistently emerged as Region 12’s top implementer and achiever in efforts to address malnutrition problems.
The province’s malnutrition rate was recorded at 9.01 percent in 2011, 8.38 percent in 2012, 7.63 percent in 2013, 7.26 percent in 2014, 5.63 percent in 2015 and 5.15 percent in 2016.
Last year, the local government covered a total of 104,840 or 86.70 percent of the estimated 120,840 preschool children in the province for its “Operation Timbang.”
Among those weighed, only 4,425 were found underweight, 981 as severely underweight and 548 were overweight.
For this year, Uy said they were hoping to further lower the case of malnutrition in the province and qualify anew for the CROWN maintenance award.
She said they would bank on cooperation and support of barangay nutrition workers and nutrition committees of the province’s 10 towns and lone city.
Uy said 60 percent of the CROWN evaluation was focused on the management of the municipal nutrition programs and the changes in the nutrition status of children.(AC/PNA)
