Republika ng Pilipinas KAGAWARAN NG KALUSUGAN

PAMBANSANG SANGGUNIAN SA NUTRISYON

(NATIONAL NUTRITION COUNCIL) NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION Nutrition Building, 2332 Chino Roces Avenue Extension Taguig City, Philippines

RESULTS OF 2010 OPERATION TIMBANG (OPT) IN NCR

I.

Introduction The most common method of measuring growth is through weighing. An individuals weight at a particular age, when compared to a standard is considered as the simplest and most sensitive indicator of ones nutritional status. It is useful for rapid screening and provides a rough estimate of an individuals nutritional status at present. Operation Timbang (OPT) is the annual massive weighing of all children aged 0-71 months in the community to identify and locate the malnourished children. Anthropometric indicator used is weight-for-age and nutritional status is determined by comparing the actual weight of the child against a reference growth standards. In 2010, the new World Health Organization-Child Growth Standards (WHO-CGS) was used and adopted in all the areas in Metro Manila. Operation Timbang is one the components of the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) under its enabling mechanism on Overall Planning, Management, Coordination and Surveillance. Data generated through OPT are used for local nutrition program planning, particularly in describing the nutritional status of the community, quantifying the number of malnourished and identifying which barangays have more malnourished children. Nutritional status data enable local nutrition planners and workers to identify which children need to be prioritized for nutrition interventions. Results of OPT provide information on the progress in the nutritional status of preschoolers and the community in general, thus, providing information on the effectiveness of the local nutrition program. Moreover, OPT results are used as an effective advocacy tool in generating support for nutrition programs from local governments and/or other external sources.

II. How Operation Timbang was conducted Weighing scales used in the OPT are either salter-type or detecto or beam balance scales. The salter-type weighing scale is commonly used in the community when the weighing is done house-to-house. Detecto or beam balance weighing scale is used when weighing is done at the health facility. The most common strategy used in the conduct of OPT in 2010 was house-to-house. In some LGUs, the weighing was done at the health center during morbid consultation or at the community health and nutrition post. Weighing was done mainly by the Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS). Assistance was provided by the Barangay Health Workers (BHWs),

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midwives, nutritionists, purok/zone leaders, and mother leaders. In Quezon City, student affiliates and Phil. Army volunteers assisted in conducting the OPT in their barangays. Other nutrition and health activities were conducted as part of Operation Timbang in many LGUs. These corollary activities include supplementation of Vitamin A and iron, salttesting, deworming, immunization, validation of spot map, nutrition counseling, and promotion of health and nutrition programs among families. III. Coverage of weighing All the 16 cities and one municipality conducted the OPT during the first quarter of 2010 with a 98.5 percent coverage of barangays. A total of 1,746,192 preschoolers or 95.13% of the total preschoolers were weighed in NCR (Table 1). Table 1. OPT Coverage per City/Municipality, 2010, NCR
Actual No. of Preschool Children 0-71 m/o 222,472 64,016 43,529 91,707 479,622 71,158 95,415 10,353 88,296 294,893 52,056 74,375 24,016 67,049 84,978 71,659 89,316 1,924,910 Actual No. of Preschool Children Weighed 214,060 53,310 38,312 74,155 475,024 62,919 68,843 9,205 88,038 248,376 49,654 59,716 17,993 60,334 77,689 62,902 85,662 1,746,192

City/ Municipality

Total No. of Barangays 188 21 14 32 142 16 30 10 28 896 27 25 21 201 16 9 20 1,696

Number of Barangays with OPT Results 187 21 14 32 139 16 30 10 28 896 26 25 21 201 16 9 20 1,671

Percent Coverage (%) 99.5% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 97.9% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 96.3% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 98.5%

Percent Coverage (%) 96.22% 83.28% 88.01% 80.86% 99.04% 88.42% 72.15% 88.91% 99.71% 84.23% 95.39% 80.29% 74.92% 89.98% 91.42% 87.78% 95.91% 90.72%

Caloocan Malabon Navotas Valenzuela Quezon City Marikina City Pasig City Pateros Taguig Manila Mandaluyong Makati City San Juan Pasay Paraaque Muntinlupa Las Pinas TOTAL

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Table 2. Comparison of OPT Coverage per LGU in NCR, 2009-2010 LGU Caloocan Malabon Navotas Valenzuela Quezon City Marikina Pasig Pateros Taguig Manila Mandaluyong Makati San Juan Pasay Paraaque Muntinlupa Las Pias NCR
Note: (+) increased coverage (-) decreased coverage

2009 88.91% 86.04% 89.35% 77.69% 107.37% 92.76% 82.78% 88.52% 100.70% 82.55% 97.73% 70.38% 90.03% 91.99% 98.80% 85.61% 103.94% 92.78%

2010 96.22% 83.28% 88.01% 80.86% 99.04% 88.42% 72.15% 88.91% 99.71% 84.23% 95.39% 80.29% 74.92% 89.98% 91.42% 87.78% 95.91% 90.72%

Remarks + + + + + + +

Table 2 shows the comparison of OPT coverage of each LGU in 2009 and 2010. Eleven (11) out of 17 LGUs in the region have a decrease in their OPT coverage in 2010. The reasons for decreased OPT coverage are the following: a. elite villages, condominiums and townhouses in some areas are difficult to penetrate due to strict security and non-cooperation of households b. high projected population in some areas c. relocation of some residents to other areas, d. overlapping of activities of BNSs and other workers involved in the OPT, lesser time for weighing activities e. uncooperative barangay officials f. inadequate manpower and supplies

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IV. Nutritional Status of the Children in NCR The double burden of malnutrition can still be seen in the region. Figure 1.
Severly Underweight 0.61% Underweight 2.12% Overweight 1.19%

Normal Underweight Severly Underweight Overweight

Normal 96.08%

Figure 1 shows the percentage distribution of nutritional status of preschool children in NCR in 2010. It is good to note that 96 out of every 100 children have normal nutritional status. Almost 3 out of every 100 children 0-5 years old were found to be underweight. On the other hand, one out of every 100 children was found to be overweight. Table 3. Ranking of Cities/Municipality based on Prevalence of Undernutrition among Preschoolers 0-71 months old, NCR, 2010
Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 LGU Navotas Malabon San Juan Manila Valenzuela Pateros Las Pias Paraaque Pasig City Caloocan Quezon City Muntinlupa Pasay Taguig Mandaluyong Marikina Makati Prevalence Rate (%) 4.94 4.21 4.08 3.93 3.89 3.34 3.30 3.07 2.53 2.46 2.40 2.39 2.33 1.68 1.65 0.88 0.81

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Table 3 shows that among the 17 LGUs in the region, the top five areas based on the prevalence of underweight are: Navotas, Malabon, San Juan, Manila and Quezon City. The City of Makati has the lowest prevalence of undernutrition in Metro Manila. V. Problems encountered during OPT Issues/Problems 1. Difficulty in weighing children living in condominiums and subdivision Recommendation Actions Taken Advocacy meeting with officers of Homeowners Association Requested schools to have the parents of the children sign the letter of consent allowing their children to be weighed. Organized OPT Bayanihan Teams Encouraged participation of community leaders in the area Requested participation of volunteer workers

2. Inadequate manpower to do the weighing in the barangays

Training of mother OPT Patrol to conduct monitoring of weight of children Proper coordination with different sectors within the community Advocate for the hiring of additional Barangay Health Aide Inform parents about the importance of OPT Intensify advocacy and promotion of OPT in the community Encourage mothers to keep the ECCD card of their children

3. Uncooperative mothers

Encouraged mothers to participate in the OPT even without incentives Referred to old masterlist of children Requested for growth chart (ECCD card) Requested the fathers or other members to assist the weighing of their children

4. Some mothers do not know the exact date of birth of their children

5. Some children are afraid to be weighed

Conduct regular weighing for growth monitoring purposed so that children will get used to being weighed

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Issues/Problems 6. Lack of support from the barangay official in terms of food and transportation allowances of the health and nutrition workers and volunteers

Recommendation Advocate for support from barangay officials and private organizations

Actions Taken Requested volunteers to bring their own baon in the field

Based on the results of the OPT, the following are the specific activities or nutrition interventions that the local nutrition committees in the region will undertake: Strengthened collaboration/coordination with NGOs to conduct programs that will improve nutritional status of underweight and severely underweight children like supplementary feeding, prevention and control of micronutrient deficiencies, deworming, etc. Continuous advocacy to the barangay council for fund allocation for nutrition program Intensify nutrition education, information dissemination and communication through activities like Pabasa sa Nutrisyon at the barangay level. Constant follow-up/meetings with organized breastfeeding support group to intensify IYCF campaign Lobby for the passage and implementation of barangay ordinances in support of E.O 51 and IYCF and the creation of more breastfeeding support groups in the barangay. Intensive and coordinative planning for nutrition program Effective implementation of the different nutrition interventions planned Allocating funds for nutrition programs Organizing/establishing innovative projects on health and nutrition Collaboration with different organization, sectors and agencies who can help improve nutrition status of children Training of nutrition service providers to update them with current nutrition strategies Regular coordination with the City Agriculture Office for home, community and school food production activities

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