National Capital Region

Details: Category: Region NCR; Published: 14 January 2022

January is National Deworming Month

Worm eggs and worms are found in contaminated soil or water. These can be transmitted through ingestion of worm eggs from contaminated food or hands, through the skin when walking barefoot on contaminated soil and inhalation of worm eggs. Poor hygiene and sanitation are also majors contributors in the transmission of worms.

Some of the high-risk groups for STH infections include children, adolescent females, pregnant women, occupational groups such as farmers and soldiers, and indigenous people. Since children love to play outdoors, they are at risk in getting the worms from the soil especially in places where people openly defecate.

People with worms may suffer from abdominal pain and enlargement of abdomen (for severe cases), redness or rash in the buttocks, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation, appetite and weight loss, body weakness and fatigue and blood in the stool.

Some people may believe that having worms is good and beneficial, but it is the complete opposite. Worms survive by stealing the nutrients from the infected person. Infected people may suffer from lack of nutrients, poor performance in school, weakness and feeling tired and impaired mental and physical development in growing children. Also, parasitic worm infection may cause iron-deficiency anemia in female adolescents and pregnant women and both mother and child may suffer from malnutrition.

As part of its Integrated Helminth Control Program, the Department of Health (DOH) conducts Harmonize Schedule and Combined Mass Drug Administration (HSCMDA) every January and July in health centers, stations and schools, declaring these months as National Deworming Months. Deworming tablets such as Albendazole or Mebendazole can help get rid of parasitic worms. Other services include diagnosis and selective treatment in health centers, provision of safe drinking water, basic sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in schools and community, and health promotion and hygiene education.

DOH calls for parents and caregivers to include their children in the Oplan Goodbye Bulate to ensure that they grow strong, healthy, and smart. This January, health care workers nationwide will go house-to-house to administer deworming tablets to qualified individuals aged 1-19 years old.

Makilahok sa Oplan Goodbye Bulate para maging malusog, masigla, at matalino ang inyong mga anak!

Visit the Healthy Pilipinas Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/DOHhealthypilipinas) for more information on this campaign.

Written by:

NOII Theresa A. Rivas and

NPC Milagros Elisa V. Federizo

References:

1. Deworming: How to Reach the Stars. WASH in Schools Three-Star Approach. Department of Education. 2018.

2. Integrated Helminth Control Program. https://doh.gov.ph/health-programs/integrated-helmnith-control-program

3. Frequently Asked Questions – National Deworming Month. https://doh.gov.ph/health-programs/integrated-helmnith-control-program

4. Healthy Pilipinas Facebook Page

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, also known as intestinal parasitism, remains to be a public health concern in developing countries including the Philippines. These infections are commonly caused by intestinal worms such as roundworm, whipworm, and hookworm.

Worm eggs and worms are found in contaminated soil or water. These can be transmitted through ingestion of worm eggs from contaminated food or hands, through the skin when walking barefoot on contaminated soil and inhalation of worm eggs. Poor hygiene and sanitation are also majors contributors in the transmission of worms.

Details: Category: Region NCR; Published: 14 January 2022

CDNPC Meeting 1 2022 The City/District Nutrition Program Coordinators (C/DNPC) of Metro Manila Association held its first meeting for the year to plan for activities for 2022. The meeting, held on January 13, 2022, was well attended by representatives from the 17 LGUs in Metro Manila. It was presided by Association President, Ms. Joann Espiritu assisted by Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator Milagros Elisa Federizo and Nutrition Officer II Theresa Rivas.

After the successful conduct of the two-day online regional conference held on December 2-3, 2021 via zoom, the Association decided to again conduct its annual conference this year virtually, if face-to-face large gathering is still not feasible. During the meeting, the results of the conference evaluation were discussed and used as basis in identifying factors that contributed to the success of the conference and how future conferences can be further improved.

Details: Category: Region NCR; Published: 14 December 2021

2021 CDNPC Conference The City/District Nutrition Program Coordinators (C/DNPC) of Metro Manila Association focused its regional conference this year on the importance of building food and nutrition resilience to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on nutrition with the theme, “Embracing the New Normal: Building Food and Nutrition Resilience”. Held virtually on December 2-3, 2021, the conference was attended by 144 nutritionist-dietitians from the 17 local government units (LGU) in NCR, hospital, and academe. Students taking up BS Nutrition and Dietetics were also present during the conference.

Addressing the country’s malnutrition problem entails a multi-level and multi-disciplinary approach that calls for intensive and sustained support from the national government agencies, local government units, non-governmental organizations, and the private sectors.

Details: Category: Region NCR; Published: 31 December 2021

December 17 and 20 2021 I Cavite and Mandaluyong On December 17 and 20, 2021, the NNC-NCR Achieve Team took a break from their regular work and participated in the various teambuilding exercises. This year’s theme of the teambuilding was inspired by the African Philosophy of Ubuntu, “I am, because We Are”, a concept in which your sense of self is shaped by your relationships with other people. It emphasizes the importance of interconnectedness and that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others. As then US President Barrack Obama said in one of his messages, this principle means that we are all connected, and that one can only grow and progress through the growth and progression of others.

Guided by the theme, the teambuilding activities enabled the members of the NNC-NCR Achieve Team to affirm that everyone in the team needs to play a part, regardless of how small they think it is to continue achieving success. What the individual member will become is largely a result of what the team has become.

Details: Category: Region NCR; Published: 14 December 2021

The National Nutrition Council – NCR (NNC-NCR) pushes the Punong Barangays and members of the Barangay Nutrition Committee (BNC) in Metro Manila to move the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) forward for nutrition improvement and scale up nutrition programs in the barangays during the Regional Dialogue with Punong Barangays: Enabling Nutrition Devolution held on November 16 and 18, 2021.

Conducted via Zoom and streamed via the NNC-NCR Facebook Page, the 2-day event aimed to enhance the awareness of PPAN in the barangay, the roles and responsibilities of BNC members, and expanding contact points for investment in nutrition. It was attended by 1,443 Punong Barangays, barangay nutrition action officers, barangay nutrition scholars and other BNC members, Sangguniang Kabataan, nutritionist-dietitians and local DILG office representatives.

Details: Category: Region NCR; Published: 24 December 2021

2021 Gawad Parangal sa Nutrisyon The National Nutrition Council-NCR recognized outstanding local government units (LGUs) with exemplary performance in nutrition program management and implementation and Local Nutrition Focal Points (LNFP) who have shown exemplary performance in 2019 during the Gawad Parangal sa Nutrisyon or the Regional Nutrition Awarding Ceremony (RNAC).

The hybrid RNAC held on December 7, 2021 at The Heritage Hotel Manila in Pasay City was attended by 52 guests and awardees onsite, and witnessed by 247 and 122 Nutrition Action Officers, Nutritionist-Dietitians, Barangay Nutrition Scholars and members of Local Nutrition Committees via Zoom platform and NNC-NCR’s Facebook Page, respectively.