Department Of Health To Provide Supplemental Food For Pregnant Women
Pregnant women in Pampanga and Zambales have been chosen as
the initial recipients of the Diet Supplementation for the First 1000 Days
program of the Department of Health (DOH) as part of its campaign to counter
the low birth weight prevalence in the country.
In a press conference to launch the program, Health
Secretary Paulyn Ubial said 50 women in Porac, Pampanga, and another 50 in
Candelaria, Zambales, that are deemed as nutritionally-at-risk will be chosen
by the local government units (LGUs) as beneficiaries.
“The primary objective of the daily meal provision is to
improve the nutritional status of selected nutritionally-at-risk pregnant women
in selected areas to prevent low birth weight and other birth defects,” said Sec.
Ubial.
To note, the first 1,000 days, which covers the women’s
pregnancy period up to the first two years of the child’s life, has been
defined as the “golden window of opportunity” for the necessary interventions
that will result to having positive impact on the child’s development.
Under the said program, rice-based meals composed of
iron-fortified rice, texturized vegetable protein, dehydrated vegetables, and
flavoring mix with essential vitamins and minerals, will be provided to an
initial number of 100 nutritionally-at-risk women when they visit the local
health centers.
According to Rise Against Hunger Executive Director Jomar
Flores, the program would be expanded depending on the availability of funds,
which will come from donors.
“This is a pilot program and the expansion or scale will
depend on the availability of funds. So there is a component of fund-raising in
this advocacy. It is not the nutrition but also we are asking for sponsors and
other individuals to donate in this campaign,” said Flores.
According to the Health Chief, there is a need to provide
the supplemental rice-based meals to pregnant women for their first 1,000 days
in order to help address the problem on low birth weight prevalence in the
country.
“We have one of the highest low birth weights in the entire
Southeast Asia. So one in every five newborns has low birth weight in this
country,” said Sec. Ubial.
She noted how present data showed that more than one in
every five infants born has low birth weight or 21 percent.
She said one of the causes of the continued prevalence of
high low birth weight rate could be due to the fact that the government had
previously focused on helping underweight infants.
“Some of the studies and evidence say that it is actually
too late. We have to intervene before the child is born. Dapat nasa uterus pa,
mag-intervene na. That is why our feeding program now goes even go beyond the
birth of the child and into the pregnancy of the mother,” said Sec Ubial.
Source: Sunstar PH
Department Of Health To Provide Supplemental Food For Pregnant Women
Reviewed by Yen
on
January 20, 2017
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