According to Minister of Health Dr. Kadil Sinolinding, Jr. during the launching of Regional Plan of Action for Nutrition (RPAN) on Oct. 28, 2024, about 240,000 children in the region are at risk of malnutrition. (Faisal Camsa Jr./BIO)
COTABATO CITY—The Bangsamoro Government is aiming to reduce malnutrition rate in the region by 10% over the next four years with the launch of the first Regional Plan of Action for Nutrition (RPAN) 2023-2028 in the country on Oct. 28, 2024.
The Ministry of Health’s (MOH) RPAN is a strategic response to the 2019 World Bank Study on Child Nutrition in the region, which highlighted high rates of stunting and wasting among children under five due to food insecurity, poverty, inadequate healthcare, and frequent exposure to both natural and man-made calamities.
In his message, read by MOH Nutrition Division Chief Celia Sagaral, BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim considered nutrition to be not just a health issue but a societal issue that affects the education, economic development, and overall well-being of communities.
“Since the inception of BARMM in 2019 and beyond, together, we will tirelessly ensure that every Bangsamoro has access to nutritious food and proper healthcare,” Ebrahim said.
“Let us join hands to create a healthier more prosperous Bangsamoro guided by Moral Governance for future generations and commit ourselves to this noble task of making a healthy diet affordable for all,” the Chief Minister added.
Citing the RPAN as a collective response to urgent and nutritional challenges faced in the region, MOH Minister Dr. Kadil Sinolinding mentioned that this active move served as a firm commitment to address the root causes of malnutrition, food, and health inequities that affect infants, children, pregnant women, mothers, and families.
The Minister urged the support of all sectors, leaders, partners, and community members, saying “This plan requires our united action and by working together we can build a stronger Bangsamoro where no child, no mother, or no family will suffer from malnutrition.”
He added, “Food Security is essential to this plan as we strive to ensure that every household in BARMM has access to sufficient, nutritious, and Halal foods.”
MOH Deputy Minister Dr. Zulqarneyn Abas underscored RPAN as the ministry’s guide in implementing programs to combat malnutrition.
Nine (9) years ago in 2015, the defunct-ARMM posted the highest stunting rate at 45.2% in the whole country, and in 2021, after seven (7) years of extensive nutritional intervention in the autonomous region, it eventually reduced to 36.6% about 240,000 children are at risks.
Accordingly, the RPAN shall be implemented in three (3) main programs and ten (10) key projects designed to address both the immediate and underlying causes of malnutrition which include the Nutrition-Specific program aligned with the Philippine Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (PIMAM) and the first 1,000 days programs both in preventing and reducing stunting and wasting.
The Nutrition-Sensitive program addresses deeply pertinent to the region such as adolescent health, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and home and community food production.
Different BARMM Ministries, Offices, and Agencies (MOAs), Local Government Units (LGUs) in the region, Humanitarian Partners, and officials of the Ministry of Health and expressed their full support for the successful implementation of RPAN. (Kasan Usop, Jr./BIO)
