LUCENA CITY—Quezon Gov. David Suarez seeks to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition and produce healthy Quezonians in the future as he urged some 1,400-strong barangay nutrition scholars to do their task of promoting good nutrition and health habits and information for the children and adults in their areas of responsibility in the province.
“You play an important and vital role as barangay nutrition scholars in the province as you continue to be in the frontline in promoting good nutrition and health habits and information among the children and adults in your areas of responsibility,” Suarez told participants during the third provincial convention of Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS) at the Quezon Convention Center last Thursday.
Suarez commended the municipal nutrition action officers from the 39 municipalities and two cities of Quezon for the significant continuous reduction of the prevalence of malnutrition in the province from 12.9 percent in 2011-2012; 11.34 percent in 2013; 11.14 percent in 2014; 10.75 percent in 2015; and 9.32 percent this year.
He said that, even as he launched his big-ticket development programs and projects in agriculture, infrastructure, education and tourism to make the province self-reliant and self-sustaining, health and nutrition always tops his concern.
“We cannot be able to achieve these developments if Quezonians are not healthy,” he told the participants who gathered yearly during the month of July declared and celebrated as “nutrition month” by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). This year, celebration bears the theme “Healthy diet, gawing habit for life”.
Provincial nutrition action officer, Robert Gajo, also the provincial agriculturist, hailed the heroism and volunteerism of the BNS as they go about their jobs in far-flung barangays deworming and vaccinating children, weighing babies, and doing supplemental feeding and promoting healthy diets.
Maribel Laconsay, BNS from Barangay Lalu in Tayabas City, was cited and shown in a video interview about her work as a BNS. Suarez and Gajo awarded her a special plaque of recognition for doing her duty in distant barangays in the foothills of Mount Banahaw despite undergoing dialysis twice a week for being diagnosed with lupus.
Dorotea Sulit, one of the 93 BNS from Lucban, said she reports every Wednesday to her barangay health center and does her routine of deworming and vaccination for preschool children.
Records showed the top 5 municipalities with preschool malnourished children in the province in 2014 are: Patnanungan, with 25.1 percent of underweight and severe underweight preschool children; Jomalig, with 22.4 percent; Catanauan, with 20.8 percent; Burdeos, with 19.6 percent; and San Andres has 18.6 percent.
The records disclosed the infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births in Quezon for 2012 was 8.3 percent; 5.4 percent in 2013 and 5.4 percent also in 2014. The maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births was 30.4, 39.3 and 33.5 for the same years.
Edzell Arcinue, program coordinator of the National Nutrition Council for Region 4A, lectured at the program on Pinggang Pinoy, which is a new nutrition tool developed by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute-DOST to guide Filipinos on healthy eating. It is a plate-based food guide for Filipinos showing the correct amount and kind of food to be eaten per meal.
Danilo Posion, 2015 nutrition awardee for most outstanding BNS shared best practices of Barangay Iruhin in Tagaytay City; while Lourdes Orongan, nutrititionist-dietician of NNC Region 4A, also discussed the role of BNS in the promotion of healthy diet.
Suarez and his wife, Party-list Rep. Anna Villaraza-Suarez of Alona arrived in the afternoon of the program and were preceded by Vice Gov. Sam Nantes, who expressed his wholehearted support to the BNS annual provincial convention.