Negros Oriental is gearing up to further reduce the stunting and wasting rates among children aged zero to 59 months this year, an official said yesterday.

At the opening of the 50th Nutrition Month celebration in July, Provincial Health Office chief Dr. Liland Estacion said one of their biggest challenges is to address the health of children in this age bracket, where stunting and wasting are prevalent.

Stunting in children means they are short in height for their age, while wasting refers to those who are underweight or skinny for their height, Estacion said.

“These problems can be countered with proper nutrition, providing a healthy and nutritious diet for the children at home and in pre-school,” she said.

In 2022, provincial records showed that the stunting rate among children below five years old was 10.3 percent of the 150,262 population.

A 9.6 percent of the 155,279 population of the same age bracket was recorded in 2023.

The wasting rate was 3.3 percent in 2022, while 2.4 percent was posted during the following year.

For malnutrition (weight for age), the province logged 5.09 percent in 2022 and 4.7 percent in 2023 in the same age bracket.

Estacion said no data is available yet for 2024 as “Operation Timbang” has yet to start.

She attributed the decline to interventions that continue year-round, such as medical missions, information and education on providing healthy food on the table, and stipends and allowances for health workers to monitor children’s growth.

Meanwhile, in Cebu City, public and private sector organizations highlighted consolidated effort in addressing stunting and low academic performance of schoolchildren.

Parolita Mission, regional nutrition program coordinator of the National Nutrition Council-Central Visayas, underscored the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition for 2023-2028, the country’s framework and roadmap to combat malnutrition in her message during the opening of the 50th celebration of Nutrition Month at the SM Seaside Cebu.

“As we celebrate nutrition month this July, it is a great time to focus on choosing foods wisely and creating a healthy eating routine,” Mission said, as she thanked the members of the academe, health organizations, the government and non-government sectors for efforts to reduce malnutrition among schoolchildren.

She said the framework highlighted the need to reduce all forms of malnutrition across all life stages and includes interventions that focus on healthier diets, better practices, and improved access to quality services.

Central Visayas’ stunting rate is now 7.2 percent, wasting rate at 1.4 percent, underweight rate at 3.2 percent, and overweight rate at 2.11 percent, citing the OPT Plus survey. (PNA)