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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.

World Food Programme (WFP) Philippines Consultative Meeting

Details
Category: Directors Corner

0411 WFP Meeting

 

The World Food Programme (WFP) Philippines met by teleconference on 8 April 2022, with the office of Cabinet Secretary Melvin Matibag and the National Nutrition Council (NNC) to discuss collaboration in strengthening rice fortification in the Philippines. The social safety net programs in the Philippines that distribute rice as a commodity, the current gaps in the implementation and regulation of the rice fortification program, and ways forward for rice fortification in the Philippines with the help of WFP are just a few of the topics that were discussed.

Rice, the staple in all regions in the Philippines, is an excellent vehicle for fortification. Through its operations, the World Food Programme Philippines has continued to push for the availability of affordable, locally produced, variety nutritional food and the usage of fortified rice. These activities help to reinforce the Philippine Food Fortification Act of 2000, also known as Republic Act No. 8976, as well as its implementing rules and regulations. In fact, the iron fortification project in Mindanao demonstrated the practicality and scalability of iron fortification in the Philippines.

The nutrition deficiencies can be addressed immediately by fortifying rice or adding micronutrients such as iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12 to rice, since it is an effective, preventive, and cost-effective alternative strategy. But rice fortification initiatives will be most successful when they are driven by partnerships and trust between public and private-sector actors to balance demand and supply, and high-level political support is essential for national government agencies to create and maintain commitments. As mentioned by NNC Assistant Secretary and Executive Director Azucena M. Dayanghirang, "There is a need to sustain high-level political support and ensure that the responsive actions of national government agencies are translated into results on the ground."

 

Asec. Dayanghirang was joined by DED Rita Papey, NPPD OIC Arlene Reario, Nutrition Officers Marivic Samson and Jaira Pedraja.

 

 

Author: OED - Pam Pescador