Negros oriental: The Department of Education (DepEd) in Negros Oriental has announced its initiative to feed a total of 34,465 learners through its school-based feeding program for the school year 2025-2026. This program is aimed at addressing nutritional deficiencies among young learners.According to Philippines News Agency, Melanie Mae Austero, the program coordinator, revealed during the Kapihan sa PIA forum that this year's initiative will focus on all kindergarten and non-graded learners who were not included in previous years. Non-graded learners are those enrolled in Special Education (SPED) programs, which do not follow the traditional grading system due to the specific needs of the students. Previously, the program targeted Grades 1 to 6 learners identified as "wasted" and "severely wasted."Child wasting is characterized by a child being too thin for their height, often due to rapid weight loss or failure to gain weight. Austero highlighted that DepEd has allocated approximately PHP 112 million f or the feeding program. In the last school year, 22,000 out of 179,000 learners were identified as wasted and severely wasted, benefiting from the program.Provincial Health Officer Dr. Liland Estacion provided additional insights, noting that the province's current stunting rate stands at 9.2 percent, which is relatively low compared to the national rate of 30 percent. These figures are attributed to the collaborative efforts to reduce undernutrition in the province. Dr. Estacion reported that the wasting rate (weight versus age) in the province is at 2.3 percent, while the underweight rate is 4.9 percent.Records from the Provincial Health Office indicate that Guihulngan City has the highest prevalence of children being underweight and stunted, while Mabinay town has the highest incidence of wasting for the year 2024.