National Capital Region

Details: Category: Region NCR; Published: 01 September 2020

Participants of the Orientation Meeting with 'Shepherds' on LGU Mobilization Strategies The Regional Nutrition Committee (RNC) in NCR, cognizant of the need to assist and mentor LGUs in planning and implementing their nutrition programs, has been implementing its Shepherding Project since 2012. The project is part of the LGU Mobilization Strategies for the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition or PPAN which is the country’s blueprint for nutrition improvement.

The local government units (LGUs) through their Local Nutrition Committees have been doing a lot of efforts to prevent the deterioration of the nutritional status of vulnerable groups including infants, children, pregnant and lactating women and even older persons during the COVID-19 pandemic. The LGUs need to be guided on how they can better mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the nutritional status of the population.

Details: Category: Region NCR; Published: 26 August 2020

Participants and facilitators of the Webinar for PPAN Movers 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.

Details: Category: Region NCR; Published: 31 July 2020

Judging of #SanaTall BNS Diaries Vlog Contest held via zoom (left) and announcement of winners posted on the NNC-NCR FB Page (right).
The Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS) are frontliners who deliver nutrition and nutrition-related services to their barangays. They mobilize the community for nutrition action, build linkage with service providers, and champion nutrition in their respective areas. However, due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, their scope of work doubled as most of them also serve as members of Barangay Health Emergency Response Team (BHERT).

Among their many tasks, the BNSs also play an important role in ensuring that the package of programs and services during the First 1000 Days (F1K) are made available and accessible in the barangay to prevent stunting.

As part of this year’s Nutrition Month Celebration with the theme, “Batang Pinoy, SANA TALL… Iwas stunting, SAMA ALL! Iwas ALL din sa COVID-19!”, the National Nutrition Council – NCR conducted the #SanaTall BNS Diaries Vlog Contest to highlight the efforts of BNSs in delivering quality F1K services amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Details: Category: Region NCR; Published: 14 August 2020

Photo for article on breastfeeding during COVID 19 According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), breastmilk is still the best source of nutrition for babies and protects them against illness. However, with the emergence of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, breastfeeding has become a concern especially for mothers diagnosed with the disease with the fear of transmitting the virus to their young ones through breastmilk.

However, this should not be the case as breastfeeding significantly outweigh the potential risks of transmission and illness associated with COVID-19. The importance of breastfeeding was reiterated in a joint statement of the Department of Health, World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF.

“Breastfeeding is the most complete and sustainable nutrition for the first 6 months of life, with continued benefits when done with complementary feeding for older infants and children. In this pandemic, mothers should not be worried about breastfeeding, as long as proper infection prevention and control (IPC) measures are observed,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque, III said in the joint statement.

Details: Category: Region NCR; Published: 16 July 2020

NNC-NCR 2020 Nutrition Month Calendar of Activities The 2020 Nutrition Month Celebration in the National Capital Region (NCR) this July goes digital as the National Nutrition Council – NCR conducts nutrition month activities using various virtual campaign strategies in view of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Nutrition Month is an annual campaign held every July by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 491 or the “Nutrition Act of the Philippines” with the aim of creating greater awareness among Filipinos on the importance of nutrition.

For this year, the theme “Batang Pinoy, SANA TALL… Iwas stunting, SAMA ALL!” aims to create awareness on the impact of stunting and what evidence-based solutions families, communities and other stakeholders can do to prevent malnutrition especially stunting. A sub theme “Iwas ALL din sa COVID-19.” was added to promote importance of good nutrition among Filipinos to boost immune system and minimize long-term nutrition effects of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Details: Category: Region NCR; Published: 07 August 2020

Regional NM Awarding Ceremony In the past years, the Regional Nutrition Awarding Ceremony serves as the culminating event of the Monitoring and Evaluation of Local Level Plan Implementation (MELLPI) and Nutrition Month Celebration. MELLPI is the monitoring and evaluation strategy of the NNC conducted by an inter-agency regional nutrition evaluation team to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation of the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition or the PPAN by the local government unit.

However, in view of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, conduct of MELLPI for this year was cancelled and nutrition month activities shifted to digital campaign.

To keep the tradition alive while keeping up with the “new normal”, the National Nutrition Council – NCR held its first virtual Regional Nutrition Month Awarding Ceremony last July 30, 2020 via Zoom. The awarding ceremony served as the culminating activity of the 46th Nutrition Month with the theme, “Batang Pinoy, SANA TALL… Iwas stunting, SAMA ALL! Iwas ALL din sa COVID-19!”.