Bulacan Boosts Efforts Vs Child Malnutrition

The provincial government is stepping up efforts to address the child malnutrition cases in the province.

Through the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO, various activities have been lined up with an aim to lessen and later on eradicate child malnutrition problem.

Starting March to April of this year, the PSWDO is conducting weight and desk validations and Monitoring and Evaluation of Local Level Plan Implementation (MELLPI) in the 18 towns in Bulacan.

Governor Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado said that the activities being conducted aim to strictly monitor the status of malnutrition in the province as well as to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of local governments in planning and implementing local nutrition programs.

Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer Rowena Joson-Tiongson said that part of the evaluation is to examine and validate the weight of the young recipients, preferably children aged 0-75 months or those who are below 5 years old and children who are in school ages 6-12 years old.

The weight validation for the young recipients started in Calumpit last March 16 and in Bulakan and Guiguinto on March 28; March 29 in Dona Remedios Trinidad; and March 30 in San Rafael, Marilao and Obando towns.

Meanwhile, schedules of weight validation will continue on the first week of April in Pandi, Hagonoy, Bocaue and Paombong, April 6 in San Miguel, April 7 in San Ildefonso, April 8 in Balagtas, April 13 in Norzagaray, Bustos, Baliwag and on the third week of April, the evaluation team will be in Angat.

“Last year, our prevalence rate was 1.68 percent that belongs to severely underweight and underweight. Now at 1.53 percent. Yes, the decrease is gradual. However, it is still significant, if we are going to compare in regional and national level, our province-Bulacan, has still the lowest malnutrition rate,” Tiongson added.

Also, Gregoria A. Calilung, Project Development Officer 3, said that the PSWDO is doing its best to maintain the low rate of child malnutrition in the province by full coordination with the nutrition action officers of each municipality and even with the volunteer workers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are supporting the MELLPI program.

However, she said that despite having low cases of child malnutrition, Bulacan is still having a hard time to eradicate it due to the influx or migration of informal settlers coming from other provinces and National Capital Region. (PNA) LAP/ZST/EGG/PS