The Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Philippines (FNRI) has recently released the data of a survey which was conducted in 2008 saying that a staggering one-third of Philippine school children between the ages 6 and 12 are stunted due to extreme poverty.
The survey showed that 33.1% of the sample population of 100,000 students across the country suffered from chronic malnutrition. Figures suggest that there was a slight increase in the number of malnourished children from 2005 but it can be noted that there was a significant decline from a high 44.8% in the 90's.
Inadequacy in eating healthy food over a long period of time led to a state of malnutrition and stunted growth. According to Eva Goyena, a science research specialist of FNRI, "Being underheight is a result of a long period of inadequate nutrition."
Early malnutrition can lead to stunted physical growth, reduced energy to learn, higher incidence of illness and occasionally even death.The prevalence of malnutrition is the consequence of a complex group of factors often found in developing countries. The Philippines does not only suffer from lack of food but also suffers from poor intra-familial food distribution.
_______________________________
In February 2010, I was given the rare opportunity to talk about the state of malnutrition among Filipino children in the Philippines in the inaugural One Young World summit in London, United Kingdom. My speech focused on how adequate nutrition and health care is intricately woven with education.
Initiatives should be set in place by the Philippine government in order to ameliorate the dire situation of health care and nutrition in the country. Four key areas should be given attention in order to deliver a sustainable program which will curb the rates of malnutrition among Filipino children.
1. Nutrition information and education which will target the increase of knowledge among parents of malnourished children with regard to proper feeding practices.
2. Health protection should be an integral component in delivering nutrition programs which will introduce medical services to moderately and severely undernourished preschoolers susceptible to infection.
3. Food assistance that will introduce supplementary feeding programs and promote locally available food commodities. This will ensure that there will be access to quality food products which will aid malnourished children.
4. Food production should be encouraged. The promotion of backyard and school gardens will increase household consumption of highly nutritious food.
These are just some things that need to be considered in the fight against malnutrition not only in the Philippines but all over the world. One challenge that remains to be formidable is changing dietary practices since human behavior has been proven to be very difficult to amend.
The issue of hunger is more than just having an empty stomach, its also an issue of human dignity.
No comments:
Post a Comment