Marcos to DOH: Educate people to eat with healthier options

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Tuesday ordered the Department of Health (DOH) to push for healthier food options in order to address malnutrition and stunting among Filipinos.

Marcos said this as he met with DOH executives and other officials from concerned agencies in Malacañang on Tuesday to discuss the strategies and ways forward with regard to the implementation of the agency's First 1,000 Day (F1KD) Program.

"We have to educate people to eat healthier options. We go back to the main point, I think is how do we consolidate all of these things that we are doing," Marcos said during the meeting.

"Well, I think Ted (Secretary Herbosa) is doing many things already. Pero may gaps sa coordination and may overlap. I'm sure there's some wasted effort and funding there. So, I think that's where we can focus on," he added.

(Well, I think Secretary Ted Herbosa is doing many things already. Pero may gaps sa coordination and may overlap. I'm sure there's some wasted effort and funding there. So, I think that's where we can focus on.)

Marcos also wants the DOH to focus on the 34 Philippine Plan for Action for Nutrition (PPAN) priority areas with high cases of stunting and malnutrition. He said well-off provinces and localities still record high numbers of malnourished and stunted children.

Among the priority areas in Luzon are Pangasinan, Isabela, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Quezon, Cavite, Rizal, Palawan, Oriental Mindoro, Masbate, Camarines Sur, and Sorsogon.

In Visayas, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Antique, Negros Oriental, Cebu, Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar are focus areas.

Meanwhile, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Lanao del Norte, Bukidnon, Davao del Sur, Cotabato, Surigao del Sur, BARMM, Sulu, Basilan, Maguindanao, and Tawi-Tawi are among the priorities in Mindanao.

Higher health budget eyed

Meanwhile, during a Palace press briefing, Herbosa said the President wants a better allocation budget for the program.

"Health and nutrition is actually closely linked so (the) President understood this and (he said), 'When I was governor, I spent 30% of our budget in Ilocos for health and nutrition,'" Herbosa said.

"So, he wants the same so I'm actually very happy coming out of this meeting and I have full support of the other Cabinet secretaries that were there–Secretary (Sonny) Angara of DepEd, Secretary of… Secretary (Renato) Solidum of the Department of Science and Technology which has the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Philippines, and also (Secretary) Rex Gatchalian, DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development)," he added.

In June of this year, Marcos approved the wider coverage for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) by including pregnant and lactating mothers to ensure the health of their children in the first 1,000 days.

It was in February when the DSWD proposed to increase the 4Ps grant amounts and provide cash grants to First 1,000 Days (F1KD) of children.

The adjustments should increase the purchasing power of the 4Ps beneficiaries and provide an incentive for them to improve compliance with program conditions that would prevent malnutrition and stunting.

The Presidential Communications Office said the country is suffering from the triple burden of malnutrition–undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiency.  

Stunting in children under five years old is at 26.7% and wasting at 5.5%. Micronutrient deficiency, particularly in Vitamin A, Iron, and Iodine, significantly has an effect on children below five years of age as well as with lactating and pregnant women.

The country is also facing overnutrition, with childhood obesity at 14% (five to 10 years of age) and adult obesity at 40%. — VDV, GMA Integrated News