City Council wants update on malnutrition program

After Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña presented his plan to address the city’s malnutrition problem, the City Council now wants an update on the program.

The council has requested for former Cebu City Mayor Florentino Solon, the city’s nutrition consultant and the head of the city’s Social Welfare Services, to appear in the council’s next session to brief councilors on the real nutrition situation of the city.

The council expressed the concern after a leader of a non-government organization appeared in its previous session and disclosed that it has been conducting several feeding programs in certain areas and schools in the city.

Vice Mayor Michael Rama commented why it is the non-government organizations that have been vigorous in addressing the city’s malnutrition concerns.

Now the council wants to know where the problem exactly lies.

Solon, also the executive director of the Nutrition Center of the Philippines, said earlier that he has already turned over his nutrition and food security program to the City Health Department only to find out that it has not been properly implemented because the health workers have focused their attention on dengue.

But Rama had said the campaign against dengue should not be an excuse to take the nutrition program for granted.

Solon’s program involves the training of nutrition scholars and health workers in organizing households down to the sitio level and teaching them how to prevent malnutrition. He had recommended that all communities ensure food security and the nutrition of children through organic gardening.

Early on, Osmeña said the city government will be implementing a first come, first served basis scheme to gain grassroots cooperation in addressing the malnutrition program.

He said that instead of the city directly bringing food to the different communities, it would be more beneficial for the communities to help augment malnutrition by setting up feeding centers themselves.

The earlier the homeowners associations can mobilize the members, the sooner they can acquire financial assistance from the city, he contended.

Osmeña said it is important to build grassroots networking so as not to waste the money that would be allocated to different nutrition programs.

Osmeña also agreed with Solon’s recommendation that one nutrition scholar or health worker should be assigned to a group of 10 households to make sure that the parents are properly trained, especially in preparing nutritious food for the children.

Councilor Christopher Alix had said the city’s malnutrition program will focus on 2,700 severely malnourished children before expanding to the grassroots.

Alix confirmed they now have the nutrition education and food security program designed by Solon, but admitted that the city lacks the health workers to implement it.

In October last year, the council approved the use of P3.1 million for the supplemental feeding programs in 10 barangays with the highest incidence of malnutrition among children. – Joeberth M. Ocao/LPM