On February 2021, the City of Manila set an important milestone in their nutrition program by hiring Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS).  This is an achievement for the city since for many years, the city was not compliant to Presidential Decree 1569 which mandates the deployment of one BNS in every barangay in the country.  The said law also mandated the National Nutrition Council (NNC) to administer the BNS Program in cooperation with local government units.

A BNS is a frontline worker in the community whose basic task is to monitor the nutritional status of pregnant women and children, and link communities with nutrition and related service providers. They also care for the malnourished, mobilize the community, keep records, and do other forms of assistance.

“The City of Manila led by our beloved Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno as lead nutrition champion, is looking forward to seeing all Manileños well-nourished and in good health.  To realize this vision, we planned and successfully executed the hiring of BNSs even amid the pandemic.  We believe that the BNSs will be a great help in ensuring that the nutrition programs under the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition or PPAN reach the families especially those with pregnant mothers, infants and young children who are most vulnerable to malnutrition. The Manila Nutrition Coordinating Council firmly believes that although we are in a pandemic due to COVID-19, employing passionate nutrition workers like the BNSs will be a good strategy in safeguarding the health of Manileños through the delivery of basic nutrition services”, explains City Nutrition Action Officer Dr. Edgar N. Santos II.

As job order personnel in the city, each BNS will receive a monthly salary of P7,500. They will be trained on their roles and responsibilities and will be deployed in the barangays. The National Nutrition Council-NCR will assist the nutrition secretariat in training the BNSs including the newly hired nutritionist-dietitians of the city who will provide guided supervision to the BNSs.

City Nutrition Committee Chair Mayor ‘Isko” Moreno has clearly shown his political will to improve the city’s nutrition situation by investing in nutrition through the hiring of four hundred (400) BNSs. 

We hope that more local chief executives will invest in nutrition such as hiring nutrition workers to ensure that nutrition programs and services reach those who are most in need of nutrition interventions, especially during this pandemic. Investing in nutrition is good governance. LGUs need to scale up nutrition actions to prevent malnutrition and improve nutrition resiliency against COVID-19.


Written by: NO III Emerenciana L. Francia and NPC Milagros Elisa V. Federizo