“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9

Kalinga is a landlocked province in the northernmost section of the Cordillera Region, composed of seven municipalities and one component city. Worldwide, the province is known for the ancient method of “batok” or hand-tapped tattoos. The passion and love that the Kalinga people put into their work are seen in their rich cultural traditions and expressions of music and dance. 

This same passion and love are what Ms. Kristal Dacio is demonstrating as the District Nutrition Program Coordinator of the province of Kalinga. She is a Nutritionist-Dietitian by profession and had been a public health servant for the YKalingas for almost eight years now. She is also the coordinator of other health programs such as the Adolescent Health and Development Program, Newborn Screening, and Geographical Isolated and Disadvantaged Area (GIDA). In addition, she serves as the alternate focal person of Provincial Council for the Protection of Children (PCPC) and the Gender and Development program. Despite the voluminous task of a DNPC, she always ensures her active involvement in other health-related programs and activities of the province. 

When Ms. Dacio started as the nutrition program coordinator, the malnutrition prevalence in the province of Kalinga was very high. The recorded stunting prevalence among 0-59 months old children in 2015 was 21.48%, but in 2021, the stunting prevalence declined to 12.2%. The improvement of the nutrition situation in the province was made possible through the collective effort of the different organizations and offices. DNPC Dacio, with the provincial nutrition committee members, conducted various nutrition programs and activities that contributed to the improvement of the nutrition situation in the province. Such activities were the regular meetings and coordination with the Municipal /City Nutrition Program Coordinators and PNC members and BNS; capacity-building activities for nutrition workers to enhance their knowledge and skills; supplementary feeding of malnourished children and pregnant/lactating women who are at risk; and regular mentoring of the low performing nutrition workers. 

To ensure that the Provincial Nutrition Committee, the activities in the Provincial Nutrition Action Plan, as well as the incentives of the Barangay Nutrition Scholars are well allocated with funds, DNPC Dacio had been working the  extra mile to do lobbying to the province’s legislators. She strongly believes that BNSes are very vital in the program for they serve as the prime movers of nutrition at the grassroots. DNPC Dacio not only provides technical assistance to the BNSes but also secures financial assistance given to them from the province in addition to what the BNSes receive in the barangay. 

The dedication and perseverance of DNPC Dacio in fulfilling her task as a nutrition program coordinator greatly contributed to the reduction of malnutrition prevalence in the province.

With the EO 138 in effect, DNPC Dacio is pushing for the creation of a nutrition office with personnel in the province. She aims to lower the rate of malnutrition among yKalinga children, and pregnant and lactating women in the near future. 

As she continues her duty as a DNPC, her passion to serve will be unassailable, for she believes that success is earned based on service to others and not at the expense of others.