There appears to be a direct correlation between the improvement in school children’s health and nutritional status and the Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) their families have been receiving under the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
Department of Education Region X Dir. Allan G. Farnazo said because parents, especially the mothers, of students classified as malnourished or severely wasted, have been closely monitoring their children’s attendance in school, the school attendance has increased tremendously, and as a result, these children have been successfully reached by the agency’s supplemental feeding program.
DepEd10 RD Allan G. Farnazo being interviewed at his office by this writer. Also in photo is Jefi M. Hona, DepEd10 Nutritionist-Dietician.
“We noticed the mothers are very involved in the program,” Farnazo said. “If you call their attention about their children’s absences, they become worried it would remove them from the program. As a result, when students are physically present in school, natututukan ang kanilang nutrition kaya nag-improve.”
Jefi M. Hona, a nutritionist/dietician consultant charged with DepEd-10’s supplemental feeding program, said figures on the children’s individual nutrition status, height and weight have shown a marked improvement over the past years the program has been implemented.
Children in Day Care Centers in Malitbog and Kibawe, Bukidnon are beneficiaries of the DSWD Supplementary Feeding Program. (photos courtesy of DSWD Filed Office-10)
From School Year (SY) 2010-2011 to SY 2014-2015, DepEd-10 records for elementary school children in Region X show the number of severely wasted children declining 68% from 16,187 to 5,240; wasted children declined 15% from 53,352 to 20,468; overweight children decreased 67% from 10,966 to 3,609 and obese children declined 63% from 1,908 to 698.
Since the 4Ps program was implemented, Farnazo said the budget for the supplemental feeding program which covers 120 feeding days every school year has increased from PhP 25-million in 2012 to PhP168-M in 2016 and implementation transferred from the Department of Social Welfare & Development (DSWD) to the individual schools.
“So we captured the severely malnourished and severely wasted children in the schools and improved their nutritional status,” Farnazo noted.
MEAL TIME. Preschoolers enjoy their nutritious lunch provided by DSWD’s Supplementary Feeding Program. (Photo by Rappler)
Although the supplemental feeding program is hobbled by budgetary constraints which still allocates a mere PhP18 per child for lunch, it has tremendously expanded its coverage and now covers more children with better meals made possible by technological improvements such as rice mongo blend and rice mongo crunchies developed by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Dept. of Science and Technology (DOST).
The CCTs, coupled with the supplemental feeding program and the strict implementation of the DepEd ban on the sale of soft drinks and junk foods in school canteens, all appear to have contributed to the marked improvement in school children’s nutrition, attendance and academic performance.
Further on, DepEd-10 would like to see enhancements in the program which is being administered by the Health and Nutrition Dept. of the DepEd Central Office in Manila.
Although the regional offices can only make recommendations based on their experience on the ground, Farnazo believes they can still contribute significant improvements in this manner.
Fr Adam Joe Bago Cssp trained parents in Digkilaan Parish in hills of Iligan to mix rice with coconut milk for a cheap but nutritious meal. He is DepEd’s ALS coordinator for the area.
For instance, an improvement in the coverage and scope of supplemental feeding program for pre-school children aged 5 years old and below, would be a welcome step forward for the Early Child Care & Development (ECCD) of local government units down to the barangay level which are implementing it with DSWD in Day Care Centers around the region.
This is strongly indicated in data from the Cagayan de Oro City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) office which set its Supplementary Feeding Program as a priority thrust through the doubling of its fund allocation from PhP 9-million in 2013 to PhP 19-million in 2016 for the health and nutrition of children in Day Care Centers/Child Development Centers.
As a result, the number of severely underweight children under the program dropped 72.4% for the three year period (from 118 to only 9); the underweight children count decreased 76% (from 756 to only 182), while the number of overweight children was reduced 27% (from 372 to 272). Consequently, the number of normal children monitored under the program increased by 2,300 or a 10% increase to 26,081.
Barangay 31 Child Development Center Nutrition Month Celebration. (CSWD photo)
Data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development Region X (DSWD-10) appear to confirm the improvement in the nutritional status of children attending day care centers around the region.
From the 1st (SY 2011-2012) to the 5th cycle (SY 2015-2016) of implementation, figures from the supplementary feeding program comparative nutritional status report show that although the total day care children served increased 42% from 101,891 to 144,842, the number of underweight children decreased 56% from 7,661 to 3,365; severely underweight dropped 35% from 461 to 298; overweight children decreased 50% from 817 to 370; and the total number of malnourished kids dropped an impressive 55% from 8,122 to only 3,663 by the 5th cycle.
As a result, the incidence of malnutrition in the region declined from 8% to only 2.5%, while the total number of children rehabilitated increased 36% from 10,367 to 14,140 by the end of the 5th cycle; and the number of normal children increased 50% from 93,082 to 139,958.
“We are serving Day Care Children enrolled in the LGU-Managed DCCs regardless of 4Ps or Non-4Ps beneficiaries, whether they are Normal Nutritional Status or Malnourished as long as they are enrolled in the Day Care Centers and within the target of LGUs,” sources at DSWD-10 said.
Don Virgilio Neri Child Development Center, Lapasan, children having prayer before meal. (CSWD photo)
“The earlier we address health problems caused by malnutrition the better,” Farnazo stressed.
“We are not yet there, but we feel that slowly our social infrastructure is getting in place in terms of assisting the child. If we pull out 4Ps now without a better alternative, we will constantly be going back to zero.”
“I think we should continue the 4Ps, we just need to improve the implementing mechanism like who should benefit and who should be excluded,” Farnazo said. “Effects are better felt compared to earlier when there were none.”
However, he notes the general perception that the schools can do it all is a real challenge which needs to be addressed and articulated.
“When the child is in school, everyone expects us to rehabilitate the children from their physical to their mental health, but the children just spend some of their time with us and are mostly elsewhere.”
“DepEd is a showcase of what kind of economy we have, the capacity and priorities of our government,” Farnazo said. “Remember, while we continue discoursing on the pros and cons, the child remains under our care and must be attended to for all his needs meantime.”
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