Biayon Beyond
Serving with Passion. Working for a Better Community.
While the causes of malnutrition are complex, inappropriate feeding practices have been identified as major factors contributing to inadequate nutrient intakes among infants and young children. While consuming a variety of foods is important for meeting essential nutrient requirements needed to promote growth, traditional diets fed to children are based predominantly on starchy staples and include few or no nutrient-rich food sources such as animal protein, fruits and vegetables. Often infants and young children are not given the care and attention needed during the selection of nutritious foods and the encouragement needed to eat sufficient amounts of foods. In addition, even when food resources are available in the home, caregivers might not make the best use of them due to lack of knowledge of the best foods for young children, cultural beliefs and practices, and inappropriate advice. Hence, community-based initiatives anchored at the grass roots level are needed to resolve the problem in Barangay Biayon.
The Problem.
HEALTH ISSUES
The initial 1,000 days from conception to the first two years of life is viewed as a distinctive "window of opportunity" which is a crucial period for growth and development. To guarantee the growth, health and development of children to their utmost potential, adequate nutrition during infancy and early childhood is critical. A reduction of 13% of deaths of children aged less than five years can be prevented from optimal breastfeeding and a further 6% decline in under-five mortality can be prevented due to appropriate complementary feeding practices. Nutrition in early life has key impact on physical growth, cognitive development, immune maturation, development of digestive systems and development of healthy eating habits of the infant.
​
During the Operation Timbang conducted from January to March 2016, the Municipality of Sergio Osmeña ranked first among municipalities in Zamboanga del Norte with the highest malnutrition rate. Among 272 children ages 0-59 months in Barangay Biayon, 26 (9.56%) are underweight and 17 (6.25%) are severely underweight based on weight-for-age; 53 (19.49%) are stunted and 48 (17.65%) are severely stunted based on height-for-age, 11 (4.04%) are wasted and 6 (2.21%) are severely wasted based on weight-for-height.
The Solution.
-
Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) and Interpersonal Communication Skills Training
-
Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) Support Group
-
Health Education Programs
-
Food Always in the Home (FAITH) Backyard Gardening Campaign
-
Malnutrition Treatment Hub
-
Cassava Chips with Squash and Malunggay Training
-
Indigenous Supplementary Mixture (INSUMIX) Production and Distribution
-
Indigenous Supplementary Mixture (INSUMIX) Training
The Outcome.
The Malnutrition Treatment Hub is already adopted by the Municipal Health Office in its thrust to combat malnutrition in Sergio Osmeña. Currently, the Municipal Health Office is coordinating with the Department of Science and Technology regarding the equipment needed for the mass production of INSUMIX and Cassava Chips with Squash and Moringa. The office will also be adopting the thrice-a-week monggo feeding together with the daily milk and boiled egg feeding.
A memorandum of agreement has already been signed by the Municipal Nutrition and Action Officer, Municipal Health Officer and Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer to establish a partnership with the Women’s Association to assist in facilitating the feeding sessions for identified malnourished children in all barangays of Sergio Osmeña.
The Objective.
To decrease the number of underweight children ages 0-59 months from 15.81% to 12.7%.
