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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.

1st Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Asia Regional Meeting

Details
Category: Directors Corner

0328 SUN Asia Meeting

On 21 March 2022, the first Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Asia Regional Virtual Meeting was held to launch a consultative approach among all SUN countries in the South and Southeast Asia and the Pacific region, which encompasses 12 countries and 3 Indian states, all committed to scaling up nutrition. The overall goal of these regional meetings is to establish and strengthen a regional dynamic in order to better harness regional opportunities in fighting malnutrition together. Ms. Gerda Verburg, the United Nations (UN) Assistant Secretary General and Coordinator of the SUN Movement, greeted the SUN Asia Regional Focal Points and kicked off the meeting with remarks on the importance of country and regional leadership.

Furthermore, Assistant Secretary of Health and NNC Executive Director Azucena M. Dayanghirang, the SUN Philippines Focal Point and SUN Executive Committee Member, moderated the discussion on way forward for regionally adapted coordination and collaboration. The output of the discussion will then be presented and reviewed in greater depth with the rest of the SUN Executive Committee on 28 March 2022.

The SUN movement's third phase clearly calls for member countries to take a stronger lead and ownership of the movement to help in the battle against all kinds of malnutrition.

A/ED Dr. Dayanghirang was joined by Deputy Executive Director for Technical Service Rita Papey and Nutrition Program Coordinator Reginaldo Guillen.

 

Author: OED - Pam Pescador