by Franklin P. Gumapon
DIPOLOG CITY, Feb. 18 (PIA) – To improve the nutritional status of every Filipino, the Department of Health (DOH) and the Rural Health Units (RHUs) are now intensifying a campaign on micronutrient supplementation by conducting barangay assemblies, school fora and other similar activities.
This was disclosed by Dr. Domiciano Talabok, Municipal Health Officer (MHO) of Polanco, Zamboanga del Norte in today’s interview with the Philippine Information Agency (PIA).
Talaboc said the government is presently implementing the micronutrient supplementation program to address micronutrient deficiencies among children and women.
Based on a health study conducted in 2000, 16.65 percent of infants born in the country were having a low birth weight, as they were weighing less than 2.5 kilos upon birth.
Talaboc also told the PIA that the government is now targeting women aged 15-45 years old, except the ligated ones, to be given micronutrient supplementation in the form of iron-cum-folic acid and Vitamin A supplements. “This is to prepare the women to have healthy fetuses when they get pregnant,” explained Talaboc.
During school fora, Talaboc has always emphasized to the students, parents and teachers the importance of micronutrient supplementation to stay healthy and strong.
“These micronutrient supplements come in three ways: micronutrient supplementation with Vitamin A, Iron and Iodine, food fortification of staples and processed foods, and diet diversification of foods rich in micronutrients through the adoption of desirable dietary behaviors,” he said.
The three micronutrients that are usually lacking among children are Vitamin A, Iron and Iodine. Vitamin A is essential in eyesight development, bone growth, cell division and cell differentiation. Iron, on the other hand, is needed for hemoglobin formation which carries oxygen from the lungs to the brain and the iodine is needed for the brain and nervous system to develop normally.
The government’s micronutrient supplementation is a short-term intervention intended to correct high level of micro-nutritional deficiencies among children and women. (FPG/PIA-Zamboanga del Norte)
