San Jose Buenavista, Antique – Board member Mayella Mae Plameras-Ladislao has pushed for the establishment of a nutrition office that will focus on addressing the malnutrition problem in Antique.
Sitting as chair of the committee on health of the provincial board, Ladislao, during their regular session on Monday, urged the local finance committee of the provincial government to prioritize establishing a provincial nutrition office (PNO) to address the malnutrition problem reported to be the highest in Western Visayas in 2023.
Citing the 2023 nutrition situation report of the National Nutrition Council (NNC) in Western Visayas, she said, 3,190 of the 50,196 children zero to 59 months old in Antique were underweight.
Further, 5,286 children were stunted while 969 were wasted.
The Operation Timbang Plus, or the annual mass weighing, with the addition of the length or height measurement of preschool children aged zero to 59 months, determines their nutritional status.
“We need to have a PNO that would focus on the implementation of the nutrition program,” Ladislao said.
Since 2019, the nutrition program of Antique has an attached office with the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), with a designated provincial nutrition action officer.
“We have a personnel services savings of PHP40 million for the period January to April 2024 that could be used for the establishment of the PNO and hiring of staff if we want to address the malnutrition in Antique,” she said. PNA