BY JENNIFER C.
TILOS
BAIS CITY, Negros Oriental, April 12 (PIA)
-- Bais City government accepted the challenge to improve its nutritional
status having the highest prevalence of malnutrition rate of 11.46 percent in
Central Visayas.
Bais City Mayor
Mercedes Goñi said the administration should be more firm now on the drive to
improve the implementation of the city’s nutrition program.
“I need to be more
strict,” declared Goni on the problem about Bais as the most
nutritionally-depressed city in Central Visayas during the Media Caravan today
in Bais City.
The malnutrition rate
is based on last year’s Operation Timbang Plus results with Bais having the
highest in undernourished and overweight children in region 7 with the
prevalence rate of more than 11 percent and 3.21 percent, respectively.
With this double
burden of malnutrition, the city government has showed commitment to intensify
its nutrition intervention programs in the barangay level.
However, the mayor
lamented on the results saying that maybe because of the acquisition of
weighing scales that the quality data ihas been collected and determined
properly.
Quality data captures
the collection of data through quality-standard weighing scales and height
boards from barangay level which will be checked mechanically to minimize human
error that will be inputted in the computers for the situation status.
Regional Nutrition
Program Coordinator, Dr. Parolita Mission emphasized that all local government
units (LGUs) are true to their data since the Nutrition Council’s Quality
Data Management was not just properly imposed to a specific LGU but to all the
LGUs in the region.
Mission stressed that
the presence of the National Nutrition Council (NNC-7) and Media
in Nutrition Development (MIND-7) intend to support the local’s
nutrition programs and analyze the situation on what would be the action point
that the city needs to do in addressing the malnutrition problem.
To help
mitigate hunger and malnutrition, Mission said the activities should be
implemented in the local level include exclusive breastfeeding for more than
six months, establish community, school and home gardens to increase food
availability, micronutrient supplementation, food fortification among others.
(mbcn/jct/PIA7-Negros Oriental/with reports from Sheena Mae Diongco, intern)