Heart disease remains no. 1 cause of death

CEBU, Philippines — Ischemic heart disease or more known as coronary heart disease (CHD) or coronary artery disease has remained the No.1 cause of death in the Philippines in the past two years although it was a bit lower in number in 2022.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) shows that from January to December of 2022, deaths due to ischemic heart diseases reached 123,067 or 18.3 percent of the total deaths in the country.

Last year’s figures were lower than in 2021 at 155,775 deaths due to CHD.

Other heart diseases are ranked eights with 21,154 cases.

Neoplasms or the abnormal growth of tissue that can be precancerous, benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous) tumors from fourth in 2021 came out second in 2022 with 68,577 deaths.

Cerebrovascular diseases which include stroke, carotid stenosis, vertebral stenosis and intracranial stenosis, aneurysms, and vascular malformations from second to third leading causes of death in the 2022 data with 68,284 recorded cases.

Deaths due to diabetes mellitus recorded 42,314 cases making it the fourth leading cause of death, while deaths due to hypertensive diseases, which ranked fifth, recorded 38,508 cases.

The rest of the top 10 causes of death last year include pneumonia with 33,471 cases, chronic lower respiratory diseases  with 22,334, respiratory tuberculosis with 19,038 cases, and the remainder of diseases of the genitourinary system with 18,804 cases.

The third leading cause of death in 2021, COVID-19 is now out of the top 10 list in 2022.

Registered deaths due to COVID-19 accounted for a total of 17,860 deaths or 2.7 percent of the total registered deaths from January to December 2022. PSA said this shows a decline of -84.2 percent from the 112,772 deaths due to COVID-19 that were registered in the same period in 2021.

By classification, COVID-19 with virus identified was the 11th leading cause of death in the country with 12,767 cases or 1.9 percent of the total deaths while registered deaths due to COVID-19 with virus not identified accounted for 5,093 or 0.8 percent of the total deaths.

Interestingly, transport accidents had been noted to be the 12th leading cause of death last year with 11,873 cases. It was 15th in 2021, but as everything is returning back to normal, more accidents have been recorded again.

Philippine nutrition

The National Nutrition Council is set to launch the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) 2023-2028 Visayas in Cebu on October 2, 2023 at Bai Hotel in Mandaue City.

The PPAN serves as the country’s blueprint of action for nutrition.

Dr. Parolita Mission, NNC-7 regional nutrition program coordinator, said that unlike the previous PPAN which focused on young children and lactating women, this year’s PPAN focuses on all age groups from birth to elderly.

PPAN is an integral part of the Philippine Development Plan and lays out targets and priority actions to guide the national government agencies, local government units, and other stakeholders in addressing malnutrition.

Following the approval of the PPAN 2023-2028 by the NC Governing Board, national and sub-island launches are planned to inform stakeholders on the programs, targets, strategies, and interventions of the PPAN.

Mission earlier said that the launch of the PPAN 2023-2028 last September 4, 2023 in Metro Manila marked a significant step towards addressing and improving the nutritional well-being of the Filipino population, demonstrating the government’s commitment to fostering a healthier and more prosperous nation in the coming years.

Mission said that people can expect a concerted effort of the government, non-government organizations, CSO, members of the Scaling Up Network to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition and improve overall health outcomes across age groups during this period.

She also urged our local chief executives of their full support for the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition 2023-2028 by scaling up the provision of nutrition services in their respective LGUs.

She also called on the regional directors of the Regional Nutrition Committee to do the same by scaling up delivery of nutrition services according to their respective mandates.

“Together, we can work towards a healthier and well-nourished future for our people in Central Visayas and the entire nation,” Mission told The Freeman.

A maximum of 300 guests which include members of the NNC Governing Board, Governors, Regional Development Committee chairs and members, Regional Nutrition Committee chairs and members, local nutrition focal points, Regional Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Networks and local key stakeholders are expected to grace the event.

House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and NNC Governing chairperson and Department of Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa are expected to attend the event.

PPAN is a six-year rolling plan addressing malnutrition challenges. It supports the eight-point Socioeconomic Agenda of the Marcos Administration that embraces Universal Health Care and the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 and is aligned with Ambisyon Natin 2040.

PPAN also harmonizes with global commitments and addresses intertwined food and nutrition challenges of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), targets the 2025 Global Targets for Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition, and upholds principles from the 2014 International Conference on Nutrition.

Meanwhile, Mission has cited the biggest challenge they face when it comes to the implementation of the nutrition programs.

Mission, in an interview after the second quarter meeting of the Media Information Network for Nutrition and Development-7 recently, said that their biggest challenge is the prioritization of the nutrition program by our local chief executives.

“Because the implementers can only do so much. But if the implementation has the support from the local chief executives, the program can progress well as shown by the mayors who are awardees of the grand nutrition award among LGUs,” Mission said.

Mission said as long as there is investment in nutrition, development and improving of nutritional status as well as development in the area can greatly be achieved. — (FREEMAN)