Malnutrition rate in Pangasinan drops

• Source:http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1941467879579/malnutrition-rate-in-pangasinan-drops
• Wednesday, July 13, 2016

By April M. Montes (JNPD/AMM/PIA-1, Pangasinan)

DAGUPAN CITY (PIA) – The Provincial Health Office (PHO) reported that malnutrition rate in Pangasinan has dropped after naming the 10 ‘healthiest’ municipalities in the province which registered low prevalence of malnutrition rate this year.

Analiza Miranda, nutritionist and dietician of PHO, disclosed these municipalities namely San Jacinto, Sta. Maria, Sual, Infanta, Basista, Sto. Tomas, San Nicolas, Sison, Mapandan and Villasis.

Miranda said that malnutrition rate among pre-school children below five years old has declined from 2.46 percent in 2015 to 1.74 percent this year which is a great result from the Operation Timbang held from January to March 2016.

Operation Timbang is the annaual house-to-house weighing and height measurement of all preschoolers 0-71 months old in the community which is a component of the supplemental feeding activities of the provincial government.

“We can attribute this to the effective health and nutrition programs such as the supplementary feeding programs being conducted in all municipalities and cities,” she said during the KBP Forum recently held at the PIA-Pangasinan office.

Likewise, health officials have been intensifying their efforts in the campaign for exclusive breastfeeding up to six months and adopt the infant and young child feeding strategy to combat malnutrition.

She also appealed to the public to provide the right nutrition in the first 1000 days of life which is between a woman’s pregnancy and her child's second birthday as it builds the foundation for a child's ability to grow, learn and thrive.