Bulacan continues to diminish child malnutrition
CITY OF MALOLOS – The Provincial Government of Bulacan continues to conduct activities that will lessen and later on eradicate child malnutrition in the province.
Starting March to April of this year, the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) is conducting weight and desk validations and Monitoring and Evaluation of Local Level Plan Implementation (MELLPI) in the 18 towns in Bulacan.
Gov. 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.
According to Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer Rowena Joson-Tiongson, part of the evaluation is to examine and validate the weight of the young recipients preferably children ages 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 DRT and March 30 in San Rafael, Marilao and Obando towns.
Meanwhile, schedules of weight validation continues for 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 is 1.68% that belongs to severely underweight and underweight. Ngayon, nasa 1.53%. Yes, pa unti-unti ang pag decrease. However, it is still significant, dahil kung ikukumpara mo 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 their 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 NGOs that are supporting the MELLPI program.
“Every year, after na matimbang ‘yung mga bata at nakita naming hindi nag-improve ‘yung kanilang timbang, inire-recommend namin agad sila na lumahok pa sa iba’t ibang programang pangkalusugan at nutrisyon na hatid hindi lamang ng PGB para matulungan na ma-improve ‘yung nutritional status nila. Hindi kami basta natatapos sa pag timbang lang,” Calilung said.
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 NCR.