BAGUIO CITY, March 23 (PIA) -- The Department of Health – Cordillera(DOH-CAR) conducted orientation on nutrition services and interventions during the First 1000 Days of Life for the first and second batch of participants from Benguet, Ifugao, and Baguio here.
Candice Willy, Nutrition Dietitian IV of DOH-CAR, said the activity was a venue for midwives and nutrition workers who are front liners in the conduct of nutrition counselling, micronutrient supplementation and growth monitoring to be refreshed and updated on the guidelines and principles of micronutrient supplementation, nutrition counselling and proper techniques in growth monitoring.
Willy said the 1,000 days between a woman’s pregnancy and her child’s second birthday offer a unique window of opportunity to build healthier and more prosperous futures. The right nutrition during this 1,000 day window has a profound impact on a child’s ability to grow, learn and thrive – and a lasting effect on a country’s health and prosperity.
Nutrition during pregnancy and in the first years of a child’s life provides the essential building blocks for brain development, healthy growth and a strong immune system.
“It is critical that women and children get the right nutrition during this time. Malnutrition early in life can cause irreversible damage to children’s brain development and their physical growth, leading to a diminished capacity to learn, poorer performance in school, greater susceptibility to infection and disease and a lifetime of lost earning potential. It can even put them at increased risk of developing illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancers later in life, “she stressed.
“A growing body of scientific evidence shows that the foundation of a person’s lifelong health – including their predisposition to obesity and certain chronic diseases – are largely set during this 1000 day window,” Willy said.
Based on the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI-DOST) National Nutrition Survey of 2015, the prevalence of nutritionally-at-risk pregnant women in the Philippines is 24.8 while Cordillera region has a prevalence of 22.1. The trend in the prevalence of nutritionally-at-risk pregnant women in CAR is increasing from 15.8 in 2011, 18.6 in 2013 and 22.1 in 2015.
The same survey showed that micronutrient supplementation particularly vitamin A has a regional coverage of 74.9% and 88% from the local Garantisadong Pambata data second semester report of 2017. (JDP/Maria Aprila WCruz – PIA CAR)
