CAGAYAN DE ORO (PIA) - To address malnutrition in the country and aid typhoon "Sendong" victims in this city, the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) launched its Malnutrition Reduction Program through the DOST Pinoy (Package for the Improvement of Nutrition of Young Children) at a hotel here the other day.

This project will look into and take care of malnourished children in various relocation sites, said Region-10 office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-10) Director Alfonso Alamban.

While the FNRI developed technologies to address such issue.

The DOST Pinoy is a package of nutrition intervention to reduce the prevalence of underweight among six- to 35-month-old children through 120-days feeding with FNRI-developed complementary food blends and snack curls.

The blends include rice-mongo based commodities rich in energy and protein such as rice-mongo instant blend, rice-mongo-sesame ready-to-cook blend, and rice-mongo curls, among others.

These food blends are also Multi-Nutrient Growth Mix (MGM) fortified with Vitamin A, iron, iodine, zinc, and folic acid, and are MGM formulations using fruits and vegetables in ready-to-use sachet.

Not only that, this program also provides training for mothers and caregivers on basic nutrition, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, meal planning, safe food handling and preparation, and backyard vegetable gardening.

According to the 2011 Updating of Nutritional Status of Filipino Children and other Population Groups, among zero to five-year-old Filipino children, two out of 10 are underweight based on age, and three out of 10 are under height.

Accordingly, children who are underweight will have slow growth and development, become sickly, and will have low performance in school.

Children aged six months to two-years-old face a critical period since they have heightened need in nutrition, and are prone to diseases and infections.

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Gov’t Launches Kids’ Nutrition Program