Franklin P. Gumapon
PAGADIAN
CITY – Recognizing the vital role played by the press in
information dissemination, the National Nutrition Council (NNC)-9 has recently
conducted a planning workshop for media practitioners in the region for the
promotion of good nutrition.
Eight
media men from the cities of Dipolog, Pagadian and Zamboanga and Ipil town of
Zamboanga Sibugay participated in the said workshop held at Alindahaw Lakeview
Resort in Lakewood, Zamboanga del Sur last July 11-12.
NNC-9
headed by Nutrition Program Coordinator Maria del Pilar Pamela R. Tarroza
briefed the participants on the nutrition problems in Zamboanga Peninsula, the
2013 nutritional guidelines for Filipinos and the Philippine Plan of Action for
Nutrition (PPAN), among others.
Tarroza
disclosed that in Zamboanga Peninsula, Zamboanga del Norte has the highest
percentage of malnutrition incidence - registering 25.5 percent of underweight
children aged 0 to 6 years old - followed by Zamboanga Sibugay with 24.9
percent and Zamboanga del Sur with 23.9 percent.
The
NNC-9 chief attributed the high malnutrition incidence to poverty as many
households in the region could hardly eat three square meals a day.
Based
on the 2003 Family and Income Expenditure Survey (FIES), the priority one
food-poorest provinces in the country are Zamboanga del Norte, Masbate,
Maguindanao, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Mountain Province, Lanao del
Norte, Camarines Norte, Sarangani and Zamboanga Sibugay. All cities and
municipalities in National Capital Region (NCR) also belong to priority one
areas.
NNC-9
has teamed up with media practitioners to help promote good nutrition starting
from exclusive breastfeeding for infants 0 to 6 months old to eating healthy
and nutritious foods like green leafy and yellow vegetables as well as fresh
fruits.
In a
related development, the entire country is now celebrating the 39th nutrition
month with the theme, “Gutom at Malnutrisyon sama-sama nating wakasan (Let’s
end hunger and malnutrition together).” (PIA9)