ARMM has highest incidence of malnutrition among children

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) topped the country’s list of highest reported cases of malnutrition among children, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Lualhati Pablo said yesterday.

In an interview with Vice President Noli De Castro in his weekly radio program "Para Sa’yo… Bayan," Pablo added Mindanao remains a serious concern for the government because of rampant poverty in the region.

"The ARMM has the highest rate of malnutrition cases because it is the most affected by the armed conflict," Pablo said.

"Most of the parents of the children in the ARMM also do not have permanent work. They have to evacuate when there is conflict that makes the work or employment here not stable," she said.

Pablo added that only Regions I, III and XI are not covered under the DSWD’s daycare program with the local government units because of the low incidence of malnutrition in these regions.

"In terms of level of malnutrition, mababa (low) in Regions I, III and XI," she said, referring to the Ilocos Region, Central Luzon and Southern Mindanao.

Aside from the DSWD, the Department of Education (DepEd) is also involved in the Day Care program with a target of feeding 60,000 children, with ages three to five years old.

Pablo said the children under the program are fed with milk, cocopan (coconut pandesal) and other nutritious food at the centers.

Their body weights are then monitored after 120 days to determine if they are still underweight.

"Our target is both preventive and rehabilitative by giving supplementary feeding. We also have a parents’ effectiveness program to teach them (how to) prepare nutritious food and self-employment assistance (so they can) have a source of income," Pablo said.

The local government units where the day care centers are located receive regular funding from the DSWD for the feeding program.

Funds are released to the Parents’ Day Care Committee in every barangay following the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the DSWD for proper management of the funds while the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children monitors the expenditures.

The rampant poverty in Mindanao remains a serious concern for the US government since it is one of the factors that contributes to the problem of terrorism.

Former US Embassy Chargé d’ Affaires Joseph Mussomeli said the problem of poverty was one of the factors that prompted him to describe Mindanao as potentially an "Afghanistan situation."

The outspoken Mussomeli said last Monday that Washington’s assessment of Mindanao had not changed because the economic and social problems in the region remain, along with the lack of educational opportunities and presence of foreign Islamic terrorists.