A total of 110 public health Nutritionist-Dietitians from the 16 cities and 1 municipality in NCR attended the Webinar for PPAN Movers conducted by the National Nutrition Council-NCR (NNC-NCR) on August 19 and 24, 2020.
Nutritionist-Dietitians (NDs) employed by the local government units in Metro Manila, designated as local nutrition program coordinators, are considered to be the PPAN Movers in the region. As PPAN Movers, the NDs or local nutrition program coordinators are expected to be catalysts for nutrition improvement by making sure that nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programs of the PPAN are implemented in the communities. The Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition or PPAN is the country’s framework in improving the nutrition situation.
The current COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected the lives of Filipino families. Many people have lost their jobs and livelihood and as such, many families have experienced hunger due to lack of money to buy food. Preschoolers and school children are no longer receiving supplementary feeding in the barangays, day care centers and schools. The limited mobility of people due to enhanced and general community quarantine and engagement of majority of health and nutrition workers in COVID-19 responses may have hampered the delivery and provision of health and nutrition services as well.
To prevent the worsening of the malnutrition problem in the region particularly stunting, the NDs as PPAN Movers were mobilized to make the PPAN 2017-2022 work towards nutrition improvement amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In her message, NNC-NCR Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator Milagros Elisa V. Federizo emphasized the roles and responsibilities of the NDs as PPAN Movers. Aside from providing technical assistance to their local nutrition committees, they are responsible for the implementation of the PPAN programs in their localities which has become more challenging due to the pandemic. They also play a vital role in supervising, training and monitoring the activities of Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS).
“Our strategies and ways of doing things may be different during this time of the pandemic but the nutrition programs of the PPAN remain the same. What we need to do is to strategize how we can best deliver those programs and services to our target beneficiaries especially to those who are most in need during this difficult time”, RNPC Federizo said.
Aside from informing the participants of their role in preventing stunting in the new normal, they were also capacitated on how to facilitate the continuous delivery of essential nutrition services in their respective localities based on the DOH Department Memorandum No. 2020-0237. They were also updated on the 2020 OPT Plus and growth monitoring in the new normal, benefits for the Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNSs), local media campaign, and national and regional nutrition policies.
NNC-NCR is optimistic that with the help of the PPAN Movers in the region, the impact of COVID-19 to health and nutrition outcomes will be minimized through the continuous provision of PPAN nutrition programs and services in the communities, particularly to pregnant and lactating mothers and families with children 0-23 months old. The PPAN Movers were mobilized to ensure that the delivery of package of nutrition interventions for the First 1000 Days is sustained to prevent stunting in the new normal.
The webinar was facilitated by RNPC Federizo with the assistance of Nutrition Officers Emerenciana L. Francia and Theresa A. Rivas. Administrative Aide VI Sarah Jane A. Bautista also assisted in the program. The activity was conducted as part of the LGU Mobilization Strategies for the PPAN in Metro Manila. (TAR/MEVF/NNC-NCR)
