Antolin “Lenlen” Oreta III has served the City of Malabon since 2012. In his three terms as mayor, there is no doubt that there have been many achievements that the City has experienced. Among the many positive changes that have happened is the eradication of severe malnutrition among children and babies born in Malabon.
A few weeks before the pandemic, a City Ordinance No. 06-2020 (“An Ordinance Strengthening the Karinderia para sa Kalusugan ni Chikiting at Buntis in the City of Malabon, Institutionalizing its Operating Mechanisms and for Other Purposes”) was enacted to develop a win-win strategy for improving the dietary conditions of children and pregnant women.
Popularly called KKC, this is a public-private partnership with local karinderia owners. At a time when malnutrition was rising while the incomes of small karinderia owners were declining, this was proven to be among the best solutions that effectively addressed both challenges.
Today, the KKC is an award-winning, and often-quoted and followed program to help LGUS eradicate malnutrition in their areas. The KK was even featured in the Compendium of Local Ordinances on Nutrition published by the National Nutrition Council (NNC) and the Department of Health (DOH).
“We are glad and proud to share our city’s best practices in nutrition to help other LGUs. We want them to know how it became an instrument to combat malnutrition here in Malabon and at the same time helped the livelihood of our fellow karinderia owners,” said Mayor Oreta.
This all started in 2018. Together with Mayor Oreta were Melissa Sison-Oreta (First Lady and City Nutrition Action Officer), and Dr. Alberto Romero (City Health Officer). Working hand-in-hand with the various Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS), they spent time coming up with an effective feeding strategy for the children within the city.
It should also address issues such as when the feeding sites are far from their homes and inaccessible during floods.
Alternate Approach
To deal with this challenge, the proponents of the KKC developed a plan to integrate the accessibility of the nearby karinderias. By doing so, children and pregnant women are now able to reach feeding sites easily. On top of that, the tastier and varied food available from the karinderias made the experience more meaningful.
Over 120 days, the beneficiaries of the feeding program were served hot and delicious meals from the karinderia.
To be selected, a karinderia must be operational for at least a year and pass all the other standards of the City Nutrition Office. Karinderia owners are also required to undergo training in Dietary Supplementation and Food Safety. Upon completion and selection, the City grants them a seed capital of P15,000.
KKC Today
From a simple feeding program initiative, KKC has found its way as a priority program in the city. Today, there are over 68 partner karinderias who have successfully fed thousands of women and child beneficiaries.
“Nagpapasalamat ako sa KKC dahil lumusog ang aking anak,” says Arlyn Orejuila. Her child has been a part of the program and reaped the health benefits from the KKC initiative. “Alam kong lalaki s’yang malaki at matalino.”
KKC intensifies its focus on the first 100 days of life as this is crucial in the healthy development of humans. The program includes children who are between 6 to 23 months old, nutritionally at-risk pregnant women and undernourished children between the age of 24 to 59 months.
More Support for KKC
For the city to reap the full benefits of KKC, there are supporting task forces and programs formed. First of which is the Barangay Nutrition Patrollers (BNPs) who are tasked with identifying children who need nutritional assistance. This is done through Operation Timbang Plus (OPT Plus).
Another is the Buntis-Chikiting Patrollers (BuChikPats) who are in charge of tracking pregnant women and referring them to health centers and KKC. Most of the members of these task forces are women who used to be participants of KKC as well.
KKC Bears Fruits
The numbers speak for themselves and KKC has been a great step into a healthier Malabon City. In the reports presented by OPT Plus. Malabon is below the national average of stunting which is at 28%. Malabon is below 6%. As for BuChikPats, more than 4,000 pregnant women were able to avail pre-natal check-ups in health centers across the city.
Aside from this, in a KKC batch that fed 1,000 participants, 65.2% were rehabilitated to normal nutritional status.
Karinderia para sa Kalusugan ni Chikiting (KKC) is proof that when the government and its citizens work together, nothing is impossible. Today and in the future, the City of Malabon will reap the benefits of a healthy and productive citizenry. A healthier kid today is a strong, smart, and spirited Malabonian tomorrow.
