■ Hanna C. Lacsamana
The towns of Paracelis, Mountain Province and Licuan-Baay in Abra recorded the highest number and prevalence, respectively, of stunting among children in the Cordillera last year.
Stunting, according to the National Nutrition Council, is defined as having a low weight for age caused by chronic or recurring malnutrition, which prevents children from reaching their full physical and mental potential.
Based on the 2023 nutrition situation recently presented by Mary Jane Delfin of the NNC Cordillera, the top 10 municipalities with the most number of severely stunted children are Paracelis, Mountain Province with 557, followed by Flora, Apayao with 172; Pilar, Abra with 117; Sadanga, Mountain Province with 113; Tanudan, Kalinga with 103; Licuan-Baay, Abra with 74; Besao, Mountain Province with 65; Tineg, Abra with 62; Malibcong, Abra with 46; and San Isidro, Abra with 40 stunted children.
In terms of prevalence, Licuan-Baay tops the list with 26.71 percent, followed by Malibcong with 26.59 percent; Sadanga with 22.24 percent; Pilar with 21.08 percent; Paracelis with 20.11 percent; Tineg with 18.08 percent; Tanudan with16.43 percent; Besao with 14.71 percent; San Isidro with14.29 percent; and Flora with 13.82 percent.
Nutrition Officer III Velanie Dao-ines said the factors leading to the high stunting prevalence especially in Abra may be due to different factors which will be a subject of the conduct of nutrition analysis with respective municipal nutrition action officers to come up with proper interventions.
For the 2023 Operation Timbang in Baguio City, barangays with the highest record of prevalence of underweight and severely underweight children are Quezon Hill Proper, Ferdinand barangay, BGH Compound, Lourdes Subdivision, Upper Rock Quarry, and Palma-Urbano.
In terms of magnitude, highest is Barangay Irisan, followed by Fairview, Asin Road, Gibraltar, San Luis, and Ferdinand.
For stunting, first is Quezon Hill Proper, followed by Lourdes Subdivision Extension, Palma-Urbano, Sta. Escolastica Village, and BGH Compound.
In terms of magnitude, on the top is Irisan, Fairview, Gibraltar, Lourdes Subdivision, St. Joseph Village, San Luis, and Asin Road.
Highest in prevalence for moderately wasted and severely wasted are Lourdes Subdivision Extension, Upper Gen. Luna, Palma-Urbano, Fairview, and Hillside; while in terms of magnitude, top barangays are Fairview, Lourdes Subdivision, Gen, Luna, Camp Allen, Liwanag-Loakan, Pacdal, Happy Hallow, Asin Road, and Irisan.
For overweight and obese, highest are Lourdes Subdivision Extension, Quezon Hill Proper, Hillside, Greenwater, and Ferdinand; while in terms of magnitude number one is Fairview.
In Benguet, those with highest prevelance of underweight children are Kibungan and La Trinidad, followed by Bakun, Sablan, Kabayan, and Mankayan. In terms of magnitude, first is La Trinidad, followed by Tuba, Kapangan, Bakun, Mankayan.
For stunting, highest is Kapangan in terms of prevalence, followed by Kibungan, Bakun, La Trinidad, and Kabayan. In terms of magnitude, top is La Trinidad, followed by Kibungan, Kapangan, Tuba, and Atok.
For wasting, in terms of prevalence, highest is La Trinidad followed by Bakun, Tuba, Kabayan, and Kapangan; and in terms of magnitude, highest is La Trinidad followed by Mankayan, Kabayan, Itogon.
Those with most number of overweight in terms of prevalence are La Trinidad, Tuba, Kabayan, Bakun, and Sablan; and in terms of magnitude – La Trinidad, Tuba, Itogon, Kabayan, and Bakun.
