THE Department of Science and Technology (DOST) held Thursday a feeding program in a remote village in the province of Zamboanga del Sur, a DOST official said.
DOST Zamboanga Peninsula Assistant Director for Finance and Administrative Support Services Martin Wee said the feeding program was part of this year's celebration of the National Science and Technology Week (NSTW).
The NSTW is being observed by the DOST from July 26-29 to raise public understanding on science and technology as well as DOST's role and contributions to national development.
Wee said at least 200 undernourished children whose ages range from six months to three years old from the village of Begong, Tigbao were served during the feeding program Thursday.
The children were given processed nutritious foods such as nutria-booster, which are available in groceries and supermarkets purposely to improve the nutritional status of undernourished children, Wee said.
He said the children were given supplemental foods aimed to attain normal weight and to address the malnutrition problem in Tigbao.
The town of Tigbao was chosen as the recipient of the program since the Provincial Nutrition Council (PNC) has identified the municipality as one of the 10 towns with high rate of malnutrition in Zamboanga del Sur.
Aside from Tigbao, the other towns identified by the PNC with high rate of malnutrition are the municipalities of Bayog, Dumalinao, Tabina, Josefina, Kumalarang, Labangan, Lakewood, Lapuyan, and Mahayag.
The feeding program was realized through the assistance from the Nutri-Booster Foods Philippines, as major sponsor of the outreach program. (Bong Garcia)