The 2015 SUN (Scaling Up Nutrition) Movement Annual Gathering (SUNGG15) was held in Milan, Italy on October 20-22. National Nutrition Council (NNC) Executive Director and Assistant Secretary of Health Maria Bernardita T. Flores attended the event and joined the panel of the plenary session, “Equity, Women Empowerment and Nutrition”.

A/Sec. Flores shared that in the Philippines, the Philippine Commission on Women was established as the national machinery for gender equality and women empowerment. She also shared that gender issues, including use of gender fair language, is being mainstreamed in the Philippines. She emphasized the use of mass media, interpersonal communication and capacity building of nutrition implementers at the local level for nutrition promotion and how these platforms are more empowering because of the positive feedback from both the listeners and the viewers.

Other speakers stressed the importance of educating both women and men on nutrition, ending women-related violence, gender equality, ending child marriage and the women’s role in breaking the vicious cycle of malnutrition. As a final thought for the session, A/Sec. Flores stressed the importance of different media forms, be it traditional or social media, to make noise and empower more women, men, and youth to improve their nutrition and their lives.

SUNGG15 showcased the efforts of the 55 SUN Countries in scaling up nutrition in their countries and in charting the future if the movement.

The Philippine delegates for the SUNGG15 were NNC Executive Director and Assistant Secretary Maria-Bernardita T. Flores, Assistant Secretary Nestor F. Santiago, Jr. for Health Operations, Assistant Secretary Allan Umali for Administration and Finance of the Department of Agriculture, Kathrine Yee, World Vision International Advocacy Manager and Aashima Garg, Nutrition Specialist of UNICEF-Philippines.

SUN is a movement founded on the principle that all people have a right to food and good nutrition. SUN Countries prioritize efforts to address malnutrition. The Philippines joined the SUN Movement in 2014, and was the 51st participating country in the movement.

For more information, visit www.scalingupnutrition.org.