The National Nutrition Council has been given the task to lead the Nutrition Cluster as per Amendment of DOH Department Personnel Order No. 2007-2492 regarding the creation of the Health Cluster with Sub-Clusters on Nutrition, WASH and Health. The Nutrition Cluster aims to ensure that the nutritional status of affected population especially the most vulnerable groups namely, the infants, children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, older persons, people with disabilities, and people living with debilitating conditions will not worsen or deteriorate due to the impact of emergency and disaster through linking with other cluster/sector groups and establishing capacities at all levels.
In compliance with this mandate, the regional nutrition cluster of NCR was formally organized in a meeting held on 26 November 2013 at the conference room of the DOH Center for Health Development-NCR in Mandaluyong City. The meeting was convened by the NNC-NCR and presided by Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator Milagros Elisa V. Federizo. The members of the NCR Nutrition Cluster include the following but not limited to DSWD-NCR, DepEd-NCR, DILG-NCR, CHD-NCR, Grace Family Helper Project, Innerwheel Foundation, Hope for the Youth Foundation, Nutrition Foundation of the Philippines, Nutrition Center of the Philippines and other member agencies of the Regional Nutrition Committee (RNC), Association of City/District Nutrition Program Coordinators (C/DNPCs) of Metro Manila, Regional Federation of Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNSs), and the Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) Coordinators’ Group. RNPC Federizo will serve as the Coordinator of the cluster and the NNC-NCR as its secretariat.
Commitments and responsibilities of partner agencies in the nutrition cluster were identified and discussed. Updates on the activities/services being done for Typhoon Yolanda survivors who are flown to Villamor Airbase via C130 were also shared by the partners. Actions to be taken by the cluster in response to Typhoon Yolanda and plans for 2014 were likewise identified.
The regional nutrition cluster aims to strengthen the capabilities of its members through trainings on Nutrition in Emergencies, IYCF in Emergencies and Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) in 2014 to be able to effectively fulfill its functions.
