A baby cries in a hammock at a temporary shelter for homeless survivors of tropical storm Washi in the southern Philippines city of Cagayan de Oro on Mindanao island. | Photo: REUTERS/Erik De Castro

Child malnutrition rising in storm-hit south Philippines.

Source: Alertnet | Thin Lei Win

Six months after a storm brought devastation to the southern Philippines, malnutrition among children in two hard-hit cities has risen sharply, the U.N. Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has said.

Powdered milk donated for babies in the aftermath of the disaster is making matters worse because it disrupts breast feeding, the agency added.

Tropical storm Washi, one of the country’s worst natural disasters in two decades, battered the conflict-torn island of Mindanao in mid-December, killing more than 1,200 people, destroying some 10,000 houses and displacing over 300,000 people.

According to UNICEF, the latest screening of around 4,400 children under the age of five revealed that 207 children in Cagaya de Oro and Illigan cities in northern Mindanao were acutely malnourished.

Compared with an initial check soon after the disaster, the number of underweight children more than doubled in Illigan, rising from 3.8 percent to 8.7 percent, and increased from 3 percent to 5 percent in Cagayan de Oro, UNICEF told AlertNet.  

One in 10 children malnourished

In one hotspot in Illigan, more than one in 10 children were recorded as acutely malnourished, it added.

Margaretha Francia, UNICEF spokesperson in the Philippines, said the rapidly evolving trend of child malnutrition in storm-affected areas requires an “urgent and effective response”.

“More children are likely to be identified and referred for nutrition treatment and rehabilitation,” she added.

Acute malnutrition, also known as wasting, is measured using several indicators, which include a child being too skinny for its height. Left untreated, a child has a 30 percent chance of dying, according to UNICEF.

Malnutrition is also the underlying cause for many preventable diseases that can lead to a child's death.

POWDERED MILK PROBLEM

Malnutrition has been a concern in Mindanao for many years due to recurring emergencies in the region - mainly natural disasters and displacement caused by an armed conflict that has persisted for decades.

In a statement released on Wednesday, UNICEF attributed the rise in malnutrition rates to a deterioration in food quality and quantity due to people leaving their storm-damaged homes.

But for infants, “an exacerbating factor is the widespread donations of powdered milk, which undermines breastfeeding, leading to a loss of the protective nutrients found in breast milk”, it added.

In addition, after a disaster, clean water may not be available to make up infant formula or to clean feeding implements. That increases the risk of babies catching infections and developing diarrhoea, which can lead to malnutrition, the U.N. agency said.

“As is common in emergencies ... milk is donated from various sources, including relief agencies, governments and well-meaning individuals,” Francia told AlertNet.

“It is often given with good intent, and without the awareness of the possible detrimental effects on the health of young children.”

UNICEF and other aid agencies are urging donors not to donate milk products directly to affected families, and to provide support for breastfeeding mothers.