ASEAN ministers collaborate to end malnutrition

• Source: http://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/2017/04/23/1693105/asean-ministers-collaborate-end-malnutrition
• Sunday, April 23, 2017 12:00 am

By Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon (The Freeman)

CEBU, Philippines - Ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nation are collaborating to end all forms of malnutrition in the region.

Despite achieving impressive economic growth, the region is still beset with malnutrition, undernutrition and obesity.

"Prevalence of stunting (low height-for-age) and wasting (low weight-for-age) among children under five remains a severe public health problem in ASEAN Member States," said the National Nutrition Council (NNC) in a statement.

According to the 2016 Regional Report on Nutrition Security in ASEAN, Volume 2 published by the ASEAN, United Nations Children's Fund and the World Health Organization, in eight out of the 10 ASEAN Member States, an estimated 5.4 million children suffer wasting and 17.9 million children are stunted.

While undernutrition is a major contributing factor to child's illness, overnutrition or obesity among children under five years is also high at 10 percent with an increasing trend.

Here in Cebu, the World Vision Development Foundation Incorporated with the help of the Cebu Provincial Nutrition Council conducted a three-day Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) program for barangay officials and health workers of Moalboal town. Freeman ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch:

The three-day exercise was conducted by World Vision to help reduce the number of underweight children in the municipality.

Based on the 2016 Operation Timbang Plus, Moalboal ranked number one in prevalence of undernutrition among children aged 0 to 71 months old in the province of Cebu.

"Undernutrition is one of the forms of malnutrition. Other forms are overnutrition and micro nutrient deficiencies," said Parolita Mission, Nutrition Program Coordinator of the National Nutrition Council-7.

NNC-7 in a statement said that with the training, World Vision sees that there will be significant reduction of undernutrition in the town.

Topics discussed during training included introduction to IYCF, breastfeeding, proper baby positioning during breastfeeding, complementary feeding and feeding during illness and low birth weight babies, as well as community organization of breast feeding support groups.