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DIPOLOG City– Lack of formal education is one of the main obstacles in addressing problem on malnutrition, mostly in the far-flung areas of this province, a nutrition official said Monday.

Provincial Nutrition Officer-in-Charge Himaya Eroy disclosed Monday that education is the main predicament in the effort of Gov. Roberto Uy’s administration in combating malnutrition especially in the remotest village of this province.

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“Education is the key to solve the malnutrition problem,” Eroy said, citing the high illiteracy problem among the hinterlands’ settlers, whose children are mostly undernourished and severely underweight.

Eroy said the biggest percentage on malnutrition is from the hinterlands, where most of the residents lack education.

“It’s very hard to teach the community if they lack education because they don’t understand,” Eroy added.

She said the major contributory factor on the lack of education is poverty.

“How they can excel in the class if they are undernourished, meaning they lack nutrients and vitamins. It’s hard to teach them if they are hungry,” she stressed.

She pointed out that the malnourished children are underweight and stunted.

She said the parents should feed their children with vegetables to keep them healthy as vegetables consumption could help to crack the problem on malnutrition.

She said there is also a need to educate the parents on the benefits in eating vegetables as “they are lazy and uninterested to plant vegetables.”

“Most people’s living in the far-flung areas are lazy to plant vegetables and unconcerned parents,” she added.

She disclosed the town of Godod registered 25.11 percent of underweight and severely underweight children from zero to two-year-old based on the data gathered by her office.

The other municipalities are ranked in terms of percentage as follows: Siocon, 24.56; Tampilisan, 15.94; Sergio Osmeña, 15.70; La Libertad, 15.64; Jose Dalman, 14.36; Baliguian, 13.34; Katipunan, 11.54; Roxas, 11.19; Liloy, 11.08; Rizal, 10.79; Gutalac, 10.30; Sindangan, 9.50; Siayan, 8.66; Salug, 8.15; Sibuco, 6.86; Piñan, 6.67; Manukan, 6.23; Sibutad, 6.22; Leon Postigo, 5.73; Labason, 5.73; Kalawit, 4.87; Mutia, 4.14; Sirawai; 2.32; and Polanco, 1.82.

Meanwhile, the nutrition officials of this province and from the municipalities jointly kicked-off the observance of Nutrition Month. pna

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