The four (4) local government units (LGU) in Metro Manila covered by the Tutok Kainan Dietary Supplementation Program (TK-DSP) commit to continue providing the critical interventions in the First 1000 Days to all their program beneficiaries.
Tutok Kainan Dietary Supplementation Program is the National Nutrition Council’s (NNC) COVID-response and operationalizes RA 11148 or the Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act. The TK-DSP focuses on the dietary supplementation of pregnant women and young children 6-23 months old to prevent stunting, especially during this time of pandemic where many families have difficulty meeting their food needs due to loss of livelihood and high cost of food and basic commodities.
In Metro Manila, a total of 616 pregnant women from the cities of Caloocan, Navotas, Parañaque, and Municipality of Pateros were enrolled in the TK-DSP 90-day supplementary feeding for Phase 1 and 100 children aged 6-23 months in Pateros were targeted for the 180-day feeding in Phase 4.
The TK-DSP in Pateros and Caloocan City has already started on March 2021 but was temporarily stopped due to the surge of COVID-19 cases in NCR. While waiting for the program to resume in these 2 LGUs and to start in Parañaque and Navotas, NNC-NCR Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator Milagros Elisa V. Federizo encouraged the 4 LGUs to continue monitoring the nutritional status of the beneficiaries and prioritize them and their families in the nutrition programs in their localities.
In a meeting held last October 15, 2021 with the TK-DSP focal persons and implementers of the 4 LGUs, RNPC Federizo highlighted the need to ensure that program beneficiaries are provided with the six (6) critical interventions in the First 1000 Days of life:
PREGNANCY
- At least 4 pre-natal visits in 3 trimesters (1-1-2)
- 180 tablets of iron-folic acid supplementation
- Balanced protein-energy dietary supplementation
YOUNGER STAGE OF INFANCY (Birth to 5 months)
- Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months
OLDER STAGE OF INFANCY & TODDLERHOOD (6 to 24 months)
- Age-appropriate complementary feeding with continued breastfeeding
- Micronutrient supplementation (vitamin A, micronutrient powder)
“Tutok Kainan DSP should be an entry point for nutrition and related programs and services,” RNPC Federizo said. Aside from these critical nutrition interventions, families of beneficiaries should be assisted and linked to nutrition-sensitive interventions such as food production, livelihood support, family planning services, and other social protection services, among others.
The LGUs were also updated on the status of preparatory activities for the TK-DSP. They have updated their masterlist of pregnant women, conducted baseline weighing and regular monitoring of nutritional status of their beneficiaries while waiting for the program to resume in the Municipality of Pateros and Caloocan City, and to start in the cities of Parañaque and Navotas on the 3rd week of November 2021.
Written by:
Nutrition Officer II Theresa A. Rivas and
Nutrition Program Coordinator Milagros Elisa V. Federizo
Reference: Brief on the Early Childhood Care and Development in the First 1000 Days (ECCD F1K) Program in the Context of COVID 19 Pandemic or “Tutok Kainan”, NNC (2020)
