Need for more focused communication campaign to curve stunting among Filipino children

CEBU CTY – There is a greater need for a more focused communication campaign and strategy to curve the alarming number of stunting children in Central Visayas and nationwide.

This was the challenge posed by the National Nutrition Council (NNC-7) regional director Parolita Mission during the Media Review on November 27 and the 10-year anniversary of the Media in Nutrition Development (MIND-7), a group of media practitioners in Central Visayas advocating for nutrition development.

Mission said that stunting is affecting 369,003 preschool children if we speak of the actual warm bodies. The greater challenge today is to reduce the number of stunted children in Central Visayas and this needs a comprehensive analysis and a more focused communication plan for the next few years’ campaign strategy.

The more alarming nutrition problem now is stunting as it is increasing with a rate of 37.7 percent or 4 out 10 children in Central Visayas are stunted in 2015, with three percent increase from 34.7 percent in 2013.

Mission cited some statistics based on the 8th National Nutrition Survey of the FNRI/DOST in 2013 and the 2015 updating, though the figures had improved in the malnutrition data among children 5 years old and below particularly our undernutrition, wasting and overweight, but the improvement is very minimal with 0.3 percent for undernutrition from 23.1 percent to 22.8 percent and one percent each for wasting-- from 8 percent to 7 percent and overweight-- from 3.6 percent  to 2.6 percent.

Mission expressed her gratitude to the officers of MIND7 for sustaining the various campaigns on nutrition through these years and still counting.  MIND7 has turned 10 on November 27 this year with the NNC-7 here as its partner for pushing issues and concerns related to good nutrition and other health campaigns.  

“I would like to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude for your presence in this significant milestone of the life of MIND7 as we celebrate our 10 years of heartful service for nutrition advocacy and promotion,” Mission said.

Mission added that with the 10 years of MIND7, many things happened and this year the advocacy is focused on the critical issue of stunting and the nutrition of children for the first 1000 days and mothers during pregnancy.

This year NNC-7 and MIND7 revisited the media/communication plan and accomplishments of last year’s activities and planning for the next year’s campaign.  Although NNC-7 and MIND7 had accomplished more than its target there is a need face the challenges of stunting among the Filipino children today, Mission said.

“We will also collectively analyze what we have done this year despite the pandemic and the previous years as our basis in crafting our thrusts and priorities for 2021 and beyond.  But I think we need to also seriously review our strategies and analyze its impact,” she added.

With a decade of Promoting Good Nutrition in the region, there is a need to look back on what the group has done to help change the nutrition landscape in Central Visayas particularly in shaping/modifying the nutrition and caring practices of families and communities to reduce stunting and other forms of malnutrition in this part of the country, Mission said.