Despite veggie diet, Ilocos Norte malnutrition is up

LAOAG CITY—Despite the Ilocano pinakbet and dinengdeng (a broth of mixed green leafy vegetables) being served at many dining tables in Ilocos Norte, this agricultural province ranked highest in malnutrition prevalence rate among the four provinces in the Ilocos region.

Roselulu Pagaduan, officer-in-charge of the National Nutrition Council (NNC) in the Ilocos, said of the 45,259 children, aged 0 to 71 months old, that they surveyed in Ilocos Norte last year, 3,554 or 7.85 percent are classified as severely underweight (612) and underweight (2,942). These children were assessed by barangay (village) nutrition volunteers during an “Operation Timbang” in 2012.

La Union, which has a 5.62 percent malnutrition prevalence rate, emerged as second in the region followed by Ilocos Sur with a malnutrition rate of 5.12 percent and Pangasinan, 4.48 percent.

Elma Irapta, an official of the provincial nutrition committee, said many children covered by the survey had micronutrient deficiencies due to poor diet.

“Having malnourished (underweight and overweight) children is not just about hunger and poverty,” Irapta said.

She said the towns with the biggest number of malnourished children are Banna, Pasuquin, Piddig, Adams and Marcos.

While the malnutrition prevalence rate of Ilocos Norte is lower than the national prevalence rate of 20.2 percent, Irapta described the pace of the province’s improvement as “very slow.”

Irapta said provincial officials and health advocates are working to lower the malnutrition rate in Ilocos Norte by half, or to about 4 percent, in the next two to three years.

She said the provincial nutrition committee, the Department of Education and local governments are conducting supplementary feeding programs and nutrition education classes for mothers, including the provision of micronutrient supplements for children, to stop malnutrition in the province.

NNC records showed that Ilocos Norte has 414,545 residents, with at least 67,156 children under six years old. Leilanie Adriano, Inquirer Northern Luzon