President Marcos has ordered the Department of Health (DOH) to campaign for healthier food options in a bid to address malnutrition and stunting among children.
Marcos made the directive during his meeting with officials of DOH and other concerned agencies on Tuesday, Dec. 3, to discuss the strategies, initiatives, challenges, and ways forward on the implementation of DOH’s First 1,000 Day (F1KD) Program.
“We have to educate people to eat healthier options. We go back to the main point I think is how do we consolidate all of these things that we are doing,” Marcos said during the meeting.
“Well, I think Ted, (Secretary Teodoro Herbosa) is doing many things already. Pero may gaps sa coordination and may overlap (But there are gaps in the coordination and there's an overlap). I’m sure there’s some wasted effort and funding there. So, I think that’s where we can focus on,” Marcos added.
The President also wants the DOH to focus on 34 Philippine Plan for Action for Nutrition (PPAN) priority areas with high cases of stunting and malnutrition, noting well-off provinces and localities still post high numbers of malnourished and stunted children.
Among the priority areas in Luzon are Pangasinan, Isabela, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Quezon, Cavite, Rizal, Palawan, Oriental Mindoro, Masbate, Camarines Sur, and Sorsogon.
In Visayas, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Antique, Negros Oriental, Cebu, Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar are top priorities.
Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Lanao del Norte, Bukidnon, Davao del Sur, Cotabato, Surigao del Sur, BARMM, Sulu, Basilan, Maguindanao, and Tawi-Tawi are among the priorities in Mindanao.
According to Herbosa, contributing factors are plenty, one of them is the people’s behavior toward food consumption.
“Apparently it’s partly behavior because they don’t want to eat the gulay they plant. Feeling nila ang gusto nilang kainin yung kinakain nung mga mayayaman (They want the food that the rich eats), lechon. Ngayon it’s all the other fast foods,” Herbosa told the President.
“So, yun ang idea nila ng masarap na pagkain (That's their idea of good food). When in fact, when you look at the Pinggang Pinoy, it’s fish, protein source, rice and vegetables. Easily available in these areas,” he said.
Marcos further said the government must put more activity in the National Nutrition Council (NNC) to help local government units prioritize spending on nutrition and health issues to promote better health and good well-being.
“But in any case, that’s why we actually have to do it ourselves at the national level. That’s why I think we should put a little more activity under NNC. And hopefully we will find local government executives that are good and have this as a priority. But those that do not, we can come in and assist them,” Marcos told the DOH chief.
Stunting in children under five years old is at 26.7 percent and wasting at 5.5 percent. Micronutrient deficiency, particularly in Vitamin A, Iron, and Iodine, significantly affects children below five years of age and lactating and pregnant women.
The country is also facing overnutrition, with childhood obesity at 14 percent (five to 10 years of age) and adult obesity at 40 percent.