Cordillera malnutrition remains high

BAGUIO CITY—The malnutrition rate in the Cordillera remains high despite the region being among the top food producers in the country, government nutritionists and agriculture officials said.

“Poverty and malnutrition are connected, while there is the supply of food, there is always a question of affordability,” said Danilo Daguio, assistant regional director of the Department of Agriculture.

Eileen Blanco, nutritionist of the National Nutrition Council in the Cordillera, said the malnutrition rate among children 5 years old or younger continued to register in double digits.

In 2012, the malnutrition prevalence rate was 12.36 percent, which meant that for every 100 children, 13 were classified as malnourished, she said.

The region is considered self-sufficient in rice and supplies at least 80 percent of highland vegetables to Metro Manila markets.

But the National Statistical Coordination Board, in its website, said “17.5 percent of all families in the Cordillera Administrative Region  (reflected as 65,516 households or 373,740 people) were poor in 2012.”
The region’s malnutrition status was discussed at a forum here.

Michelle Andaya, nutritionist of the Department of Education (DepEd) in the Cordillera, said Baguio had the most underweight children in the region in the first half of 2012, and blame went to the growing number of fast-food restaurants in this city and the availability of junk food in school canteens and stores near school compounds.

“There are schools that still sell junk food, and it is hard to fight these giant companies,” Andaya said.

The DepEd Cordillera office recorded up to 9,000 malnourished pupils out of 36,000 grade school students in Baguio from July to August of school year 2011 to 2012,  Andaya said. Desiree Caluza, Inquirer Northern Luzon