The DOH-NCR Office spearheaded the conduct of a simultaneous regionwide “Buntis Congress” on June 24, 2015. All LGUs in Metro Manila except for the cities of San Juan, Manila and Las Piñas, participated in the event.

The Buntis Congress is part of the 15-month High Impact Five Breakthrough Strategies or commonly known as Hi5 of the Department of Health which aims to accelerate reduction in maternal deaths, infant and under-five mortality; halt HIV/AIDS; and strengthen Service Delivery Networks.

In support of the Hi5, the National Nutrition Council-NCR participated in the Buntis Congress conducted by Taguig City Nutrition Office in cooperation with the Department of Health – NCR Office, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and Philhealth. More than 300 pregnant mothers attended the congress held at the Taguig City University (TCU) Auditorium.

To promote good nutrition among the pregnant mothers, NNC-NCR distributed flyers on 10 Kumainments, Nutri-Komiks on Breastfeeding and recipe book on “Mga Lutuing Gulay Araw-Arawin – Simple, Mura at Masustansya”. Nutrition Officer I Bea Menorca gave a lecture on proper nutrition during and after pregnancy. An audio-visual presentation on the 10 Kumainments was also shown after the nutrition lecture.

Participants of the event were able to gain knowledge on safe motherhood, breastfeeding, immunization, family planning, teenage pregnancy and the importance of giving birth in accredited health facilities.

NNC-NCR is committed to help contribute in reducing maternal mortality by 57% by the end of 2015 through the intensive promotion and advocacy of good nutrition during and after pregnancy. (MABRM/MEVF/NNCNCR)