00:00The decrease in malnutrition indications in the country is a result of various government programs
00:07according to the Food and Nutrition Research Institute.
00:10At the same time, there is a continuous decrease in various government agencies
00:14that are looking at programs against malnutrition.
00:18Reporter Rod Laguzan has this report.
00:23The decrease in malnutrition indicators in the country is a result of various government programs
00:27according to the Food and Nutrition Research Institute or FNRI
00:32of the Department of Science and Technology.
00:34Based on the released 2023 National Nutrition Survey,
00:37the decrease in malnutrition indicators is only related to this year.
00:41From 19.7% in 2021, it decreased to 17.9% in the past year
00:47for the ages 5 to 10.
00:49But the data suddenly returned to the increase in wasting
00:53or being thin in young people.
00:55The data suddenly increased in 2023 where 8.4% of young people experienced wasting.
01:02That's higher than 6.9% in 2021.
01:05This wasting is an effect of the, it's an acute form of malnutrition
01:09which is more likely the shacks.
01:12It could be disasters in the previous years and it could be inflation.
01:18As we all know, prices are increasing.
01:21It could be that food insecurity, as I reported,
01:24the severe form of food insecurity is really increasing.
01:30According to the FNRI, the multisectoral approach of the government
01:34could be the result of the downturn of some malnutrition indicators.
01:37Just like the program of the Department of Health
01:40which focuses on the nutrition of newborn babies until their 1,000th day.
01:45And when it comes to the feeding program of DSWD and DepEd.
01:48We cannot really directly pinpoint that supplementary feeding
01:53but in a way because it already shows the results of the NNS
01:58wherein we have seen some improvements in the nutrition of school-age children.
02:04What we can say is maybe those programs in place in the schools as delivery platforms
02:11as well as at the community level as delivery platforms are working.
02:15The FNRI also gave the importance of helping different government and NGO agencies
02:20to reduce malnutrition in the country.
02:23Rod Lagusan for Pambansang TV in Bagong, Philippines.
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