The National Nutrition Council-Cagayan Valley recently released the second issue of the InFormation About Nutrition (IFAN) magazine which highlights the advocacy on the promotion of the 2012 Nutritional Guidelines for Filipinos (NGF).

With the success of the maiden issue of the IFAN magazine released on July 2013, NNC-R02 deemed it proper to continue with its publication. Considering also the wide acceptance of IFAN among the reading public, it had served as a very effective and efficient mode of delivering nutrition information in all corners of the region.

The second issue now focuses on the NGF which was adopted and approved by the National Nutrition Council Governing Board in 2012. A product of the efforts and hard work of an inter-agency and multi-disciplinary technical working group organized by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology, the NGF was promulgated with the end goal that it will serve as guidelines for the “improvement of nutritional status, productivity and quality of life of the population, through the adoption of desirable dietary practices and healthy lifestyle. The set of NGF aims to protect and promote the nutrition of Filipinos. It provides the basis and reference for the nutrition community in the development of nutrition information, education and communication materials and in the conduct of nutrition education and advocacy activities.”

According to NPC Rhodora G. Maestre of NNC-R02 and Editor-in-chief of the IFAN magazine, the second issue of IFAN focuses on the NGF in the hope of bringing closer to the people of the region its valuable concept and message.

“The NGF had been primarily designed to serve as guidelines for us to follow in order to have a better living and in the end attain a better society. With this, we fervently hope that IFAN will be of great help so that Filipinos may further understand the true concept behind the formulation of the 2012 NGF,” Maestre added.

On the other hand, RNC Chair Jovita P. Ayson of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Region 02 expressed her gratitude for the positive acceptance of the various partners and agencies on the first issue of IFAN. She also noted that with its success, it is imperative to continue with the publication of IFAN.

“Be it noted that the NNC-02 and the Regional Nutrition Committee shall fully implement the NGF. We shall work tirelessly and with the same zeal and compassion so that all Ivatans, Cagayanos, Isabelinos, Vizcayanos and Quirinians will fully appreciate the importance of the NGF towards attaining a better and healthier life. We shall never stop working until we have fully attained zero malnutrition in the entire region,” Director Ayson said.

Aside from the NGF, the second issue of IFAN also highlighted the “Goodbye Gutom Caravan” conducted by the NNC-02 during the Nutrition Month Celebration and the Regional Nutrition Awarding Ceremony held last November 18, 2013. The five provinces comprising the region focused in the “Pasada Probinsiya” portion of the magazine. Furthermore, various news and feature stories about nutrition were also included to apprise the people of the recent activities of NNC-R02.

IFAN is the official publication of NNC-R02 and is released twice a year. It contains the latest news, events, activities, programs, projects and information on nutrition. It is a collaborative effort of the Regional Nutrition Committee, NNC-R02, and the Balay ni Ifan Media Group, an organization of media practitioners in the region from the radio, television, and print media who helps the NNC-02 in its information advocacy towards the promotion of good nutrition.