Cases of underweight children in Kalinga decreased by 28% from 2019-2020

Tabuk City, Kalinga―There is a decrease of 28% in the prevalence of wasted or with a low weight-for-height children under five years of age from 2019-2020 in the province.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Edward Tandingan reported this based on the data generated through Operation Timbang (OPT).

OPT is the annual weighing and height measurement of all preschoolers 0-59 months old or below five years old in a community to identify and locate the malnourished children.

Wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five. It is usually the result of acute significant food shortage and/or disease.

In Kalinga, a total number of 777 children are recorded under wasted this 2021. Hence, from the 3.89 rate in 2020, it has now dropped to 2.8 surpassing the Regional target of 2.16.

Moreover, the City of Tabuk, municipalities of Pinukpuk and Lubuagan ranked with the highest number of wasting cases, while the municipalities of Balbalan and Tinglayan listed the lowest wasted children having only 2 each.

Dr. Edward Tandingan related that despite the onset of the pandemic affecting food supply, most municipalities have maximized resources provided by the government.

In the 2016 Global Nutrition Report, the Philippines was identified as one of the top 40 countries in the world with the highest prevalence of wasting among children at 7.9 percent.

According to UNICEF Global Nutrition Database, the Philippines ranks 10th in the world with the highest number of children under five who are moderately or severely wasted. The risk of wasting increases in the aftermath of emergencies.

Hence, wasting continues to be a serious child health problem with the Philippines being highly disaster-prone.

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