More than 200 malnourished tribal children benefitted from the milk-feeding program launched by the provincial government of Davao del Norte in three impoverished IP villages of Talaingod town.
As part of its nutrition program, the province started the milk-feeding project in the elementary schools of Sitios Tibi-tibi, Cabadiangan and Mesolong, all of barangay Sto. Niño.
With a malnutrition rate of about 14 percent, Talaingod has earned the dubious reputation of having the biggest number of malnourished children in the province.
Overall, Davao del Norte has a malnutrition prevalence rate of five percent, which the province is working hard to bring down to the level of 2.4 percent this year.
Provincial health officer Dr. Agapito Hornido said the children will be given a free supply of milk to drink for three months.
Along with the launching of the milk-feeding program in Talaingod, the province also conducted deworming, dental services, mass urine screening and environmental sanitation services that benefitted more than 800 ethnic children.
Milk-feeding is a flagship program of the provincial government which aims to eliminate the problem of malnutrition among school children. It was pilot-tested by the province two years ago in three elementary schools in the Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos).
Dr. Hornido said 382 undernourished school children included in that try-out recorded an average of 85 percent conversion rate.
“In our pilot-testing of the milk-feeding program two years ago, we had a very good conversion rate of 85 percent. That is why, we are replicating the program in Talaingod to arrest the incidence of malnourishment among the children of indigenous communities,” he said.
Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario had long stressed the importance of proper nutrition in improving the academic performance of school children.
He is maximizing the resources of the province to make the feeding program work, among other interventions, in order to ensure that the school children will have a healthy body and mind for them to absorb better education.
Del Rosario relying on the highly-efficient delivery of basic nutrition services of Davao del Norte which has been a consistent regional outstanding winner in nutrition (CROWN) awardee the past several years.
Last year, the province was able to provide micronutrient supplementation, that include Vitamin A supplements to 106,021 preschoolers; iron supplements to 2,919 BNVL/BN PS and 20,205 pregnant mothers; and, deworming to 204,675 preschoolers.
