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Directors Bio 3471 2756

AZUCENA MILANA-DAYANGHIRANG, MD, MCH, CESO III
ASSISTANT SECRETARY and EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
NATIONAL NUTRITION COUNCIL

Dr. Azucena M. Dayanghirang is an experienced public health leader. For the past 29 years, she has been a facilitator and a trainer for various health programs particularly on Maternal Child Health and Nutrition. She has served the people of Davao as City Nutrition Action Officer from 1991-1995; Chief of the Technical Services Division and Medical Officer VI of Davao City Health Office from 1996 to 2005; as well as the Provincial Health Officer II and Provincial Nutrition Action Officer of Davao del Sur from 2008 to 2016.

During her stint in the local government, she led the City Nutrition Committee in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of health and nutrition programs. She initiated the “Fresh Milk Supplemental Feeding Program,” which led to the reduction of protein-energy malnutrition among 0-6-year-old children. She also successfully lobbied for the regularization of 32 Nutritionist-Dietitians deployed in the 16 Districts of Davao City in 1996.

In 2016, she was elected as the National President of the Nutrition Action Officers' Association of the Philippines (NAOPA), Inc. Shortly after, she was appointed as Deputy Executive Director of the National Nutrition Council (NNC), an attached agency of the Department of Health, Philippines. In August 2019, Dr. Dayanghirang was appointed as the Executive Director of the NNC. Currently, she is designated as the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Philippines Government Focal Point and most recently, appointed as a member of the Executive Committee of the Global Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement representing Asia and Papua New Guinea.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed the appointment of Dr. Dayanghirang to Career Executive Service Officer (CESO) Rank III effective 3 December 2020. Recently, she was upgraded to Executive Director IV with the rank of Assistant Secretary as approved by President Duterte through Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea on 21 July 2021.

NNC leads 2020 Nutrition Month campaign

Details
Category: Directors Corner

Nutrition Month Campaign

The NNC spearheaded the virtual launching of the 2020 Nutrition Month campaign through the Laging Handa Public Briefing hosted by Presidential Communications and Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar on 1 July 2020 aired over PTV4. The TV program featured NNC’s Executive Director Dr. Azucena M. Dayanghirang who shared key messages in the annual campaign.

In her interview, Dr. Dayanghirang discussed the importance of the Nutrition Month campaign as a channel for raising awareness of the country’s most pressing issues in nutrition.  This year’s campaign aims to catalyze actions to address stunting with the theme “Batang Pinoy, SANA TALL… Iwas Stunting, SAMA ALL! Iwas ALL din sa COVID-19”.

According to World Health Organization, stunting in the Philippines remains to be of high magnitude and severity. Based on the 2018 Expanded National Nutrition Survey conducted by DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute, one out of three Filipino children under five years of age is stunted. This places the Philippines among the top 10 countries with the highest prevalence of stunted under-five children in the world.

She added that the majority of the Filipinos view stunting as “namamana” and not a major health concern to them. NNC’s Executive Director made it clear that stunting is not hereditary in nature because children when they are given proper nutrition and care, they have the ability to reach their full growth and development potential.

It was also emphasized that not only stunting affects the physical growth, it causes irreversible damage to brain development if not addressed within the First 1000 Days of a child. To avoid stunting and its consequences, the NNC encourages all parents of 0-24 months old children to regularly bring their child to a health center for growth monitoring. In addition, mothers should practice exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months and introduce complementary foods at six months while continuing breastfeeding for two years or more. Local government units are urged to ensure that services, especially for pregnant and lactating women and children below 2 years old are continuously implemented.

Likewise, the NNC Regional Offices held various activities, mostly online to kick-off this year Nutrition Month campaign. 

You may watch the replay of the segment through this link: https://www.facebook.com/nncofficial/videos/2680736425502902 . To learn more about the upcoming activities of the NNC for the Nutrition Month celebration, visit the Facebook Page of the National Nutrition Council (Official) or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. #2020NutritionMonth #IwasStunting #SamaALL

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