THE Davao City Nutrition Office on Thursday, June 29, bared that most of malnourished children in Davao City are found in Paquibato District with seven barangays in the top 10.
Nutrition officer 2 Eloisa Simbajon said the area with the highest prevalence of underweight and severely underweight children is Mapula village, Paquibato District. Its prevalence rate of 51.12 percent to date.
Included in the top 10 are villages Tapak, Paquibato (20.67 percent); Bucana, Talomo North District (19.57 percent); Salampawan, Paquibato (18.75 percent); and Colosas, Paquibato (16.42 percent).
Also among the top 10 villages are New Carmen, Tugbok (13.74 percent); Lumiad Paquibato (12.5 percent); Dominga, Calinan (11.75 percent); Fatima, Paquibato (10.96 percent); and Panyalum, Paquibato (10.89 percent).
Simbajon said to address the malnourishment in the city; they have the community integrated management for acute malnutrition (Cimam) that caters severely underweight children from six to 59 months of age.
Nutrition officer 2 Gladys Rodriguez on Thursday said Davao City has been chosen as a pilot area for the Cimam implementation in 2013.
The program involves the distribution of ready to use therapeutic food (RUTF) to severely wasted children.
Simbajon said that in her area in Talomo North, two children out of seven identified as severely wasted were already cured.
She said in 2016, out of 26 children, who went to rehab, 13 were cured.
Rodriguez also said children, who were cured in Sasa through the Cimam program, were also recorded.
The Davao City Nutrition Office will also start in July the distribution of Weekly Iron Folic Acid for Grades 7 to 10.
Children 12 months to one year old in communities will also be given medicines for deworming.