Cordillera malnutrition alarming 05-10-30

	NORDIS WEEKLY October 30, 2005
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Cordillera malnutrition alarming
BAGUIO CITY (Oct. 27) — National Nutrition Council-Cordillera Administrative Region (NNC-CAR) presented an alarming incidence of malnutrition in the region. As this developed an urban poor group here asserts that the lack of decent paying jobs and low income are the main reasons for children’s malnutrition. NNC-CAR Regional Director Dr. Micaela Defiesta disclosed during the weekly Kapihan on October 26 that the provinces of Abra and Apayao, both in the Cordillera Region, are among the most malnourished provinces in the country. Defiesta added that in 2003 among zero to five year-old children, 27.6% are underweight, 30.4% are under-height, 5.5% are thin and 1.4% are overweight. She added that among six to ten year-old children 26.7% are underweight, 36.5% are under height and 1.3% are overweight. Defiesta also said that the average Filipino diet does not meet the recommended dietary allowances (RDA). Geraldine Cacho of the Organisasyon dagiti Nakurapay nga Umili ti Siudad (ORNUS) stressed urban poor families cannot afford to have a balanced diet because their income cannot even suffice for three meals a day. Cacho said Ornus survey and case studies in urban poor barangays of Baguio showed that on the average a sidewalk vendor earns P2,500 a month. She also said that most of the families they have surveyed are composed of six members or even more. “Two thousand five hundred pesos is definitely not enough to feed six people, to think that there are even urban poor families with 12 children,” she said in Ilocano. Cacho added that the government’s poverty threshold for CAR pegged at P6,988 a month for a family of six is insufficient. “This amount translates to P37.57 per person per day. This is not even enough for one meal and there are other needs like water, electricity, fuel, education and medicines,” she stressed. Cacho further said that children need immunizations and vitamins but these should only be supplemental. She said that feeding programs would help but it would not solve the problem on malnutrition unless the root cause is addressed. She added that the long-term solution to malnutrition is the creation of decent paying jobs. Moreover, Cacho stressed that the implementation of the expanded value added tax (E-VAT) this November would worsen the plight of urban poor families. # Kim Quitasol for NORDIS
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	NORDIS WEEKLY October 30, 2005
Home \| To bottom	Previous \| Next
Cordillera malnutrition alarming
BAGUIO CITY (Oct. 27) — National Nutrition Council-Cordillera Administrative Region (NNC-CAR) presented an alarming incidence of malnutrition in the region. As this developed an urban poor group here asserts that the lack of decent paying jobs and low income are the main reasons for children’s malnutrition. NNC-CAR Regional Director Dr. Micaela Defiesta disclosed during the weekly Kapihan on October 26 that the provinces of Abra and Apayao, both in the Cordillera Region, are among the most malnourished provinces in the country. Defiesta added that in 2003 among zero to five year-old children, 27.6% are underweight, 30.4% are under-height, 5.5% are thin and 1.4% are overweight. She added that among six to ten year-old children 26.7% are underweight, 36.5% are under height and 1.3% are overweight. Defiesta also said that the average Filipino diet does not meet the recommended dietary allowances (RDA). Geraldine Cacho of the Organisasyon dagiti Nakurapay nga Umili ti Siudad (ORNUS) stressed urban poor families cannot afford to have a balanced diet because their income cannot even suffice for three meals a day. Cacho said Ornus survey and case studies in urban poor barangays of Baguio showed that on the average a sidewalk vendor earns P2,500 a month. She also said that most of the families they have surveyed are composed of six members or even more. “Two thousand five hundred pesos is definitely not enough to feed six people, to think that there are even urban poor families with 12 children,” she said in Ilocano. Cacho added that the government’s poverty threshold for CAR pegged at P6,988 a month for a family of six is insufficient. “This amount translates to P37.57 per person per day. This is not even enough for one meal and there are other needs like water, electricity, fuel, education and medicines,” she stressed. Cacho further said that children need immunizations and vitamins but these should only be supplemental. She said that feeding programs would help but it would not solve the problem on malnutrition unless the root cause is addressed. She added that the long-term solution to malnutrition is the creation of decent paying jobs. Moreover, Cacho stressed that the implementation of the expanded value added tax (E-VAT) this November would worsen the plight of urban poor families. # Kim Quitasol for NORDIS
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