Nutrition Action Officers from all over the country pledged their support to end malnutrition through the full implementation of the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition 2017-2022 in their local government units during the 5th National Conference of Nutrition Action Officers in Davao City on 23-24 August 2018. The Nutrition Action Officers convened for their biennial conference to discuss actions for reducing the prevalence of stunting and wasting among children as well as halt the rising prevalence of overweight and obesity among Filipinos.
Ms. Maria Ana Uy, Provincial Nutrition Action Officer of South Cotabato and President of the Nutrition Action Officers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (NAOPA), called on the NAOs to mobilize their local nutrition committees to align their local nutrition actions along the nutrition programs under the PPAN 2017-2022 and increase local budgets for the nutrition program. Ms. Uy said that “NAOs are equipped with the policy and guidance from the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Budget and Management circulars that call on LGUs to ensure that their nutrition plans are aligned with the PPAN.”
Assistant Secretary of Health Maria-Bernardita T. Flores, Executive Director of the National Nutrition Council (NNC) which organized the conference enjoined the NAOs to forge a PACT with NNC. The PACT identifies key actions of NAOs after the conference, namely: P – prepare the 2019 local nutrition action plans aligned with the PPAN; A – assess the functionality of their local nutrition committee; C – coordinate with their Regional NAOs Association on the actions agreed upon during the NAOPA General Assembly; and T – turn learnings from the conference especially the good practices in nutrition program management into local scaled-up action.
The NAOs were also updated on the latest policies and programs on nutrition including the NNC’s position on fad diets, updated implementing guidelines on the Barangay Nutrition Scholars program and the proposed national nutrition program for government workers. In the technical sessions, topics focused on addressing the double burden of malnutrition including actions on the first 1000 days of life, strategies for improving complementary feeding for infants, nutrition practice guidelines on overweight and obesity, and, healthy food options for school children. The NNC also shared the good practices of 11 local government units that are contained in NNC’s coffee table book entitled “Compendium of Actions in Nutrition”.
NNC Deputy Executive Director Dr. Azucena M. Dayanghirang shared updates on the PPAN 2017-2022. She mentioned that the NNC is conducting planning workshops in the 36 focus provinces of the PPAN to enable LGUs to include nutrition actions and budget in their 2019 annual investment plans and local development plans. The DILG is assisting the NNC in convening the LGUs following a directive from President Rodrigo Duterte on the implementation of the PPAN.
The NAOPA, Inc. also convened for its general assembly where it presented its accomplishments in the last two years and discussed proposed future plans for the association. The NAOs also passed priority resolutions related to the PPAN 2017-2022 implementation.
The conference theme “Stronger NAO for PPAN” called for urgent action among the NAOs to step up themselves and fulfill their role as catalysts and mobilizers of their respective local nutrition action plans.
The NNC, together with NAOPA, Inc., organizes the National Conference of the NAOs every two years. Nutrition Action Officers are either designated by their local chief executives or full-time workers at the provincial, city and municipal levels.
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