Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba has vowed to end malnutrition problems in the province, adding that “it was never neglected” and was in fact included in various social welfare programs of the provincial government.

In an interview Tuesday, Mamba said among the measures to curb malnutrition is the implementation of the “MagSAKAbataan” under the No Barangay Left Behind (NBLB) program. Its purpose is to educate the youth on the importance of planting vegetables that are needed to boost food security and the people’s health, he added.

Mamba said the Provincial Nutrition Committee (PNC) should focus on extending programs and activities to reduce the number of malnourished children in the province.

He noted that a “multi-sectoral and inter-agency approach” is needed for nutrition programs.

Local civic groups like “Agkaykaysa Organization” in villages provincewide “can help a lot in the development of solutions and decisions on the issue of malnutrition in the province, so it proposed to make the said group a member of the committee.

Malnutrition is among the concerns where the group can help in disseminating information to combat it, he added.

At least 5,174 children aged 0 to 59 months are currently stunted in the province, putting Cagayan province under Category 2, Assistant Provincial Health Officer Rebecca Battung said on Wednesday.

She said, however, that the National Nutrition Council (NNC) data revealed Cagayan remains manageable, noting that this number is lower compared to the data in 2019 and compared to other provinces throughout the country.

Category 2, according to NNC, means Cagayan has a “high need” and “high capacity” for malnutrition. (PNA)