January 07, 2022 | Brgy. Boa, Municipality of Cagdianao, Province of Dinagat Islands – The Caraga Regional Nutrition Cluster reaches one of the most hardly-hit areas in the Dinagat Islands province, Brgy. Boa in the Municipality of Cagdianao, wherein 95% of the structures in the area are totally damaged and families are displaced. Reaching the barangay is a major challenge as the road going to the area is very rough and response units may have to cross bodies of water.
Using the Nutrition Initial Needs Assessment tool, NNC Caraga NOII Raphael Ochavo and UNICEF Nutrition Officer Pete John Biscarra, as members of the Regional Nutrition Cluster, interviewed Brgy. Boa Punong Barangay Divine Eupeña. According to Punong Barangay Divine Eupeña, most of the families in the area are now living in makeshift tents made of laminated tent sheets. She also reported that Ms. Lanie B. Magallanes, one of the Barangay Nutrition Scholars, died during the storm.
Due to the effects of Typhoon Odette, almost all of the document of the Barangay LGU were destroyed, and no available documents were reviewed by the Regional Nutrition Cluster.
For Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) Services/Facilities, the Regional Nutrition Cluster noted that there are no identified IYCF/breastfeeding areas in the barangay, no community kitchen readily available, no IYCF support groups deployed in the area. The team also noted that there are no milk products or breastmilk substitute included in the food relief items distributed to the barangay.
For Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) Supplies, due to the wrath of Typhoon Odette, all of IYCF counselling cards, breastfeeding flip charts, EO 51 posters, and breastfeeding kits were destroyed.
For Micronutrient Supplies, the nutrition cluster noted that there are no available Vitamin A capsules, Micronutrient Powders, Iron drops, Iron with Folic Acid, Oresol and Zinc Drops in the barangay. Punong Barangay Eupeña also reported that they have limited supplies of the micronutrients even pre-Typhoon Odette and added that only Vitamin C is available during the visit which is supplied by the Cagdianao Mining Corporation.
All of the nutrition anthropometric tools were also destroyed including the MUAC tapes for children and adults and other measuring tools. The nutrition cluster provided new MUAC tapes to the Barangay Nutrition Scholars and conducted a quick refresher/orientation and demonstration on how to use the MUAC tapes.
The nutrition cluster also noted that there are no commodities for the management of acute malnutrition such as Ready to Use Supplementary Food (RUSF) and Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) in the barangay even prior to Typhoon Odette ravaged the area.
The nutrition cluster noted gaps in the ongoing relief efforts and assistance to the barangay such as inconsistent frequency of distribution of food and non-food items or the relief items distributed are not enough to provide for the whole members of the community ergo the Barangay LGU has difficulty of prioritizing in the distribution of the items since almost all of the constituents are affected.
For health and disease surveillance, Punong Barangay Eupeña shared to the nutrition cluster that there were cases of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) noted 72 hours after the typhoon but were immediately attended and no other AGE cases reported thereafter. The Barangay Health Worker reported that there is an increasing case of acute respiratory illnesses noted in the area such as cough and colds. The nutrition cluster also noted that due to limited medical supplies, COVID protocol were not observed and an estimate of 30% COVID vaccination rate was reported by Punong Barangay Eupeña.
On water and sanitation, the nutrition cluster observed that access to safe drinking water remains to be a concern since their main source of water comes from bore hole, fresh water from the mountains. Although there were observed piped water system, water storage is reportedly a concern also, as verbalized by Punong Barangay Eupeña, as the water from the bore hole is continuously flowing and the barangay do not have enough storage for the water. This concern may contribute to vector-borne diseases that may affect the health and nutrition situation in the area. Another major concern is on sanitation as access to clean toilets remains to be a serious problem of the barangay. Since most of the structures in the area were totally damaged, including toilet facilities, there are no access to functioning sanitary facilities in the area and families do not have enough personal hygiene supplies. Upon ocular visit, there is one toilet available that serves as the community toilet but do not have enough supplies and no proper barriers or cover for privacy and cleanliness. There is no drainage system observed in the area.
According to Punong Barangay Eupeña, as relief operation for food items steadily increased over time, their priority immediate needs now are shelter materials, cooking utensils, hygiene supplies and cash assistance. #RPOchavo