65% of NMI kids rely on food assistance

A total of 65 percent of children in the CNMI receive nutritional assistance either from the local government or the federal government.

This according to the preliminary results of the recently concluded during the 2005 Health Survey for the Children conducted throughout Commonwealth.

Dr. Rachel Novotny of the University of Hawaii presented the preliminary data on the Health Pacific Child Project Survey at the Office on Aging’s Man’amko Center Monday morning.

Novotny said the children who also rely on food assistance either get assistance from Food Stamps, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and other free breakfast and lunch programs in their community.

The lifestyle characteristics of the 420 respondents were also analyzed in the survey. The research head said 42 percent of the families of the children grow their own food in their homes and 17 percent of them hold livestock farming within the household. The survey team also looked into how the families of the respondent acquire water for daily consumption and 95 percent of them are into piped water systems and 86 percent of them have toilets with flush.

The survey also found out that 50 percent of the respondents have families with incomes of $385 to $576 for one bi-weekly pay period.

A disease mostly found in adults, called Acanthosis Nigricans, was also discovered in children in the CNMI. Although Novotny said among the 420 respondents in the survey, only nine cases were identified to have the skin discoloration disease.

Novotny said if the disease gets worse with those who have it, it would eventually lead to diabetes.

Aside from the screening of the skin of the children, the survey also included blood tests for anemia and total cholesterol level of the children. Preliminary results indicated that 26 percent of the children below five years old show symptoms of anemia, while 17 percent of the children from five to 11 years old also had low hemoglobin level. Only 13 percent of the male and 14 percent of the female children had cholesterol levels above the 200 mg/dl standard.

The team also surveyed the oral condition, the body mass index, and blood pressure of the children. Among the 420 percent surveyed children, 16 percent were 10 years old, 13 percent were five years old, while 11 percent were two-year-old and three-year-old kids.