The inter-agency city nutrition committee (CNC) of Taguig led by its Chair, Mayor Maria Laarni L. Cayetano, believes that together they can significantly reduce, if not eliminate malnutrition in their city. With this mindset, they analyzed the causes of under and overnutrition among children and using the multi-sectoral approach, planned nutrition actions that will bring about nutrition improvement.  They improved their targeting by focusing on the undernourished children and their families, pregnant and lactating mothers and other groups affected by malnutrition. The city government allocated Php 22 million to enable the CNC to implement a comprehensive nutrition program. 

The CNC regularly meets to discuss the status of the nutrition program implementation.  A full-time city Nutrition Action Officer (NAO), Ms. Julie Bernabe, oversees the implementation of the nutrition program and directly reports to the Mayor being the chair of the CNC. Assisting the CNAO are six (6) nutritionist-dietitians who provide technical assistance to the Barangay Nutrition Committees and supervise the forty three (43) Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS) deployed in the twenty eight (28) barangays of the city.

All their barangays have active and functional BNCs with full-time Barangay NAOs. The BNCs work in coordination with the CNC to ensure that all their efforts are geared toward the nutrition improvement of the city. The BNCs and the CNC work to maximize the use of the budget and other resources for nutrition.  They continue to implement various nutrition projects such as the deployment of 350 active breastfeeding support groups, conduct of Buntis Congress, cooking demonstrations on complementary foods, Healthy Eating and Living or HEAL (an interactive cooking demonstrations to promote vegetable consumption), Kulay Kamay (drawing and coloring activities for kids during supplementary feeding), Nutri-Bingo (card game promoting Go, Grow, and Glow foods), Bingulay (game promoting vegetable consumption), and establishment of an urban community vegetable garden, in addition to the impact programs on nutrition. The city also established its own Human Milk Bank located at the Taguig-Pateros District Hospital.

The CNC through its nutrition secretariat ensure that the implementation of their local nutrition action plan is well-coordinated, regularly monitored, periodically evaluated through program implementation reviews, and properly documented.   

Through the efficient implementation of their nutrition program and the collaboration and team effort of the city and barangay nutrition committees, the city’s prevalence rate of underweight among children 0-71 months old has gone down from 3.82% in 2011 to 0.55% in 2015. The prevalence rates of wasting, stunting and overweight among preschool children also continued to decline over the past three years. 

With the strong political will of Mayor Cayetano, Taguig City proved that nutrition improvement can be achieved.  “Kung gugustuhin, may paraan, malnutrisyon ay kaya nating labanan”.  

TAGUIG CITY

2015 OUTSTANDING LGU IN NUTRITION PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Green Banner Awardee

Special Award: Most Efficient in Nutrition Program Management