Manila, July 10 -- A total of 156,706 learners in Kindergarten, Grade 1, 2 and 3 categorized as severely wasted and wasted will benefit from the carabao milk campaign of the Department of Education (DepEd) to improve their health and overall well-being.

DepEd Ilocos Region nutritionist dietitian Maricris Rimas, in an interview on Thursday, said the program is part of the school-based feeding program with two components -- the regular component and the milk component.

She said the beneficiaries identified as severely wasted and wasted will undergo a 15-day supplementary milk feeding particularly of carabao milk.

Child wasting refers to a child who is too thin for his or her height and is the result of recent rapid weight loss or the fai...