Base on Wikipedia, in most of the world, malnutrition is present in the form of undernutrition, which is caused by a diet lacking adequate calories and protein. While malnutrition is more common in developing countries, it is also present in industrialized countries. In wealthier nations it is more likely to be caused by unhealthy diets with excess energy, fats, and refined carbohydrates. A growing trend of obesity is now a major public health concern in lower socio-economic levels and in developing countries as well.
The World Health Organization cites malnutrition as the greatest single threat to the world’s public health. According to irinnews. org, the leading countries that has a large number of chronically malnourished children are Afghanistan (59 percent), Yemen (58 percent), and the Southeast Asian half-island nation bordering Indonesia and Timor-Leste (54 percent). Around a third of young children in southern Afganistan are acutely malnourished. Around a million Afghans under five are acutely malnourished, according to the UN-backed survey.
By far the worst affected area is the southern region – centred around Kandahar and Helmand – that was the Taliban’s birthplace and has seen some of the heaviest fighting of the decade-long war. The Afghanistan Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) found 29. 5% of children are suffering from acute malnutrition there. A major problem is attitudes to breast feeding, according to UN nutrition specialist Elham Monsef. Women are often told breast milk is not good enough or find it hard to nurse, so infants are given everything from tea and water, which have no nutritional value, to formula milk that is over-diluted or made with dirty water.
The UN and aid groups are now racing to gather more details on the scale of the problem, and worst-hit locations. Malnutrition is more common in India than in Sub-Saharan Africa. One in every three malnourished children in the world lives in India. Around 46 per cent of all children below the age of three are too small for their age, 47 per cent are underweight and at least 16 per cent are wasted. Many of these children are severely malnourished(unicef. org/india). According to the report, half of the country’s children are chronically malnourished and alnutrition is higher among children whose mothers are uneducated or have less than five years of education. This is an issue that the government of india is also deeply concerned about. Yemen has some of the highest malnutrition rates in the world. Over ten million people in Yemen are currently thought to be at risk because of insufficient food and in the worst affected parts of the country as many as one in three children are suffering from life-threatening acute malnutrition.
More than one in eight of all children under five years old in Yemen are classified as ‘acutely undernourished’, meaning they are at immediate risk of dying because of preventable childhood illnesses made worse by ill health and a reduced diet. Britain has committed to provide critical support over three years, allowing the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to work with the Government of Yemen to plan long term solutions to the current crisis. They will address the root causes of malnutrition rather than simply tackling the symptoms (dfid. gov. uk).
With Southeast Asia’s vast rice fields and bountiful fruit trees, one would never guess that it has the largest population of hungry people in the world. Approximately 70. 0% of the world’s malnourished children live in Asia, resulting in the region having the highest concentration of childhood malnutrition. One in eight Cambodian children dies between birth and age five and the early childhood death rate is even higher in Laos. Babies born to malnourished mothers are more likely to be underweight with compromised immune systems that put them at higher risk for infection and long-term disabilities.
However, even with these bleak statistics, Southeast Asia is making progress. The number of malnourished children has decreased from 39% in 1990 to 28% in 2005 (revolutionhunger. tumblr. com). Although this news sounds promising, there are many problems that demand immediate attention if the rates are to continue to decrease. Malnutrition is one of the largest or biggest social problem that the Philippine is facing. They say that poverty is the main cause of malnutrition in the philippines because they are not able to eat the right kind of food they need.
Kids are the most affect by this condition here in the philippines and it is a serious national problem that is really alarming and should be solved in the nearest possible time. According to the Philippine Ministry of Health, nearly 1/2 of all reported deaths are among infants and children through age 4, and about 1/2 of the accelerated death rate among those age 5 and younger is related to malnutrition, compounded by diarrhea, measles, and malaria which is returning to areas where it once was almost eradicated.
The undernourished and truly poor of the Philippines number about 1/2 of the population. According to the latest study by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, three in every 10 Filipino children aged 5 and below are stunted or too short for their age while two in every 10 children also in the same age range are underweight. These problem not only have to be addressed but it has to be solved fast. In explaining the reason for the increase in underweight children, research says that rice crisis and the typhoons might be the contributing factors.
Survey says that the households which had 36,634 or 191,316 individuals as respondents, was conducted in April 2008, when rice prices increased significantly from the previous year, because of the shortage in supply and high commodity prices in the world market. Malnutrition in the Philippines is a huge problem. Many families are experiencing poverty and can’t afford to eat well. The economy has not been performing well in quite some time. The children are suffering the most as they don’t get the vital nutrients they need to grow well.
Global attention needs to be brought to the issue. Although nutrition is recognized as a basic human right, and vital to the survival, growth and development of children, malnutrition still persists. Malnutrition continues to be a major international health problem that claims millions of lives. Malnutrition in the Philippines is caused by a host of interrelated factors – health, physical, social, economic and others. Food supply and how it is distributed and consumed by the populace have consequent impact on nutritional status.
While reports indicate that there are enough food to feed the country, many Filipinos continue to go hungry and become malnourished due to inadequate intake of food and nutrients. In fact, except for protein, the typical Filipino diet was found to be grossly inadequate for energy and other nutrients. In order to compensate for the inadequate energy intake, the body utilizes protein as energy source. A high prevalence of underheight-for-age or stunted preschoolers was mostly observed in Mimaropa, Bicol, and all the regions in the Visayas and Mindanao.
During the 1970s, the government developed a major program of expanded production with the result that rice production expanded substantially. Even this achievement leaves the average Filipino short by 300 calories of food intake per day. It is not jiggering with food aid or government price incentives that will assure that future Filipinos will have enough to eat. Only a productive revolution of rural life that also educates mothers to know what makes for sound family nutrition will be adequate.
Over the past decade, National Nutrition Surveys show a steady decline in the prevalence of (nutritional blindness) due to vitamin A deficiency among children. However, VAD remains endemic in the regions of Southern Tagalog, Eastern and Western Visayas, Western Minadanao, and the disadvantaged urban areas of Manila, where xerophthalmia affects 1. 5% to 3% of children. Government has been doing its part by advocating for the Sangkap Pinoy Seal campaign, wherein local food manufacturers are encouraged to fortify their products with micronutrients, especially those which most Filipino children lack.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Education also have a continuing feeding program in public schools. Allegations of corruption, though, have thrown the program into a bad light, to the disadvantage of the schoolchildren. The Nutri-Asia Gabay Kalusugan feeding and nutrition program falls under the DepEd Adopt-a-School Program in which the private sector is helping fill the gaps in education resources.
Iron deficiency anemia (IDA), the most pervasive of micronutrient deficiencies, increased from 27% in 1982 to 37% in 1987, particularly affecting infants, young children, and pregnant and lactating women but declined again according to the 1993 survey, particularly among infants. To combat these forms of malnutrition, a balanced diet that includes plenty of vegetables must be given to children especially in their growing-up years. Many nutritious and affordable vegetables can be prepared within the limits of one’s budget.
Regular intake of fortified milk is also among the most viable ways of helping address malnutrition particularly undernutrition. Fortified milk like BEAR BRAND Powdered Milk Drink has been added with more vitamins and minerals than regular milk, offering a nutritious way for kids to get the benefits of the Tibay Resistensya nutrients, Iron, Zinc and Vitamin C. One solution to undernourishment and malnutrition is so simple, we often neglect it. Fruits and vegetables are the richest source of vitamins and minerals that our children need to achieve optimum growth.
Research shows that only 5 percent of a child’s diet is devoted to fruits and vegetables. Meanwhile, 83 percent is allocated to carbohydrates. That children do not like to eat fruits and vegetables is not an excuse to let them suffer from vitamin and nutrient deficiencies. We must help them acquire a taste for fruits and vegetables. It is not at all an impossible task. One other important factor in evaluating the nutrition of children is the feeding practices. At the time of the survey, 89. 6 percent of infants aged 0-23 months were breastfed.
Among 0-5 months old children, 35. 9 percent were exclusively breastfed while 36. 8 percent were breastfed and at the same time given complementary foods. Of the 6-11 months old, 40 percent were still breastfed, while of the 12-23 months old, 22. 2 percent were still breastfed. Of the 0-23 months old, 89. 6 percent were breastfed while 10. 4 percent were not breastfed. The main reasons mothers stopped breastfeeding were inadequate milk flow (34 percent), working outside home (25. 5 percent), another pregnancy (9. 1 percent), child refused (7. percent), mother was ill (7. 6 percent), cracked nipple (5. 4 percent), child old enough for weaning (2. 8 percent), child abandoned (1. 5 percent) and others 3 percent (opinion. inquirer. net). The good news is that more Filipino mothers are now seeing the importance of exclusive breastfeeding of infants from birth until 6 months. Increased malnutrition could be avoided, with proper interventions. what to do is there needed to be increased awareness of what constitutes a proper diet and micronutrients and the use of fortified foods were also a factor. eficiencies in Vatimin A, iron and iodine are still prevalent especially in children below two years of age. It is sad to note that, despite government efforts at food fortification, incidences of iron-deficiency anemia and Vitamin A deficiency continues to rise from 1993 to present. As the National Nutrition Month winds down, maybe awareness on malnutrition can be our food for thought, that would hopefully stir our souls to be more pro-active in helping to address this concern.
As individuals, we can definitely make a difference, especially if we inspire those around us to do their part as well. What we must all realize is that malnutrition does not only afflict the poor in the way that hunger does. Malnutrition is more deceptive because it affects a broader segment of the population often without their knowledge. Adrienne Constantino said malnutrition was a continuing challenge for the country. “We are improving, but not fast enough. ”
The Provincial Government of Rizal was delighted with the latest announcement from the National Nutrition Council, Calabarzon. Region IV-A DSWD director Wilma Naviamos reported that Rizal province has the second lowest malnutrition prevalence rate with 4. 71% in the whole region. Batangas Province has the lowest prevalence rate of 3. 79%. On the other hand, Quezon province has the highest incidence of malnutrition at 12. 86% prevalence rate. Among the 14 cities in the entire Calabarzon region, Antipolo has the highest malnutrition prevalence rate with 9. 0% next to Lucena City. Jalajala (2. 20%), Binangonan (2. 21%) and Morong (3. 03%) are the top three municipalities in Rizal with the lowest incidence of malnutrition. Rizal Gov. Jun Ynares III lauded the efforts of the municipalities for keeping the incidence of malnutrition in the province in check. Although, there are localities which need to step up its efforts, like in the case of Antipolo, who got the highest incidence of malnutrition in the province, the overall malnutrition situation in the province is encouraging (rizalprovince. gov. ph).
