BONTOC, Mountain Province - A total of 2,983 children in this province are now benefitting from the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD's) expanded Healthy Start Feeding Program (HSFP), officials said Saturday. Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer Rosalinda Belagan said the DSWD has expanded its HSFP coverage to selected provinces where there are municipalities with cases of malnutrition. In this province, the program beneficiaries came from the municipalities of Paracelis, Besao, Natonin, Sadanga, Sagada and Barlig. Belagan said all the daycare children in these areas are provided supplemental food in the form of hot meals served to daycare pupils aged 3 to 5 years old, five days a week for 60 days starting this month until December this year. Belagan said the DSWD has allotted P2.1 million for Mountain Province which will be appropriated to the six municipalities depending on the total number of enrolled day care pupils. Before the implementation of the program, the children will be weighed, measured in height and given deworming tablets.
During the supplemental feeding, monthly weight and height measurement will also be conducted to determine improvement in their nutritional status, she added. Belagan said parents of daycare children will manage the feeding program. To ensure the nutritional value of the program, the parents prepare the foods based on the 20-day cycle nutritional recipes prepared by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute. (Dexter A. See)
