April 7, 2017 – The Regional Nutrition Committee (RNC) of MiMaRoPa echoed the call for urgent action to address the malnutrition problems in the region through the approval of RNC Resolution No. 1, Series 2017, a resolution for the adoption of the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) 2017-2022.
According to the results of the 2015 National Nutrition Survey Updating of Nutritional Status of Filipino Children and Other Population Groups conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST), MiMaRoPa ranked 1st among all the regions with the highest prevalence of underweight children in the country at 31.8%. In addition, underweight prevalence increased from 27.6% in 2013 to 31.8% in 2015, while stunting prevalence increased from 35.8% in 2013 to 40.9% in 2015. On the other hand, wasting prevalence is consistent at 9.7% in 2013 and 2015.
The effects of malnutrition not only affect the individual alone but the accumulated long-term effects also pose consequences on the community and the country as well. To continually improve the interventions and mechanisms aimed at addressing the specific nutritional problems in the region, the PPAN is regularly updated to serve as a basis for the formulation of the local plan of action for nutrition in the provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays as well as a guide for the planning and allocation of the regional line agencies for their respective programs and projects on nutrition.
Specifically, through the adoption of the PPAN 2017-2022, the RNC member agencies committed to:
- Pursue the programs and projects specified in the resolution and continue identify new ones in the course of the plan’s implementation
- Ensure the availability of needed resources, by, among others, including related budgetary requirements in the agency budget proposal
- Ensure reporting of related physical and financial accomplishments and nutrition statistics as applicable
- Advocate for nutrition to be a perspective and component of our policies, plans and programs
Adoption of the PPAN 2017-2022 provides wider range of possibilities for the convergence of the regional line agencies and NNC MiMaRoPa in the aim for the betterment of the nutrition situation in the region. It does not only provide actions to be taken, but suggests ways to find specific ways to address malnutrition based on the unique characteristics of the region.
The adoption of the PPAN 2017-2022 was accomplished in the recent first meeting of the RNC for 2017 conducted last April 7, presided by Department of Health (DOH) – MiMaRoPa Regional Director, Dr. Eduardo C. Janairo and participated by representatives from the regional line agencies of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Commission on Population (POPCOM), Department of Education (DepEd), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and National Food Authority (NFA).
Other major agreements in the meeting includes convening State Colleges and Universities (SUCs) to discuss their potential participation in the nutrition programs and research on Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in the region, requesting NNC Central Office to include Occidental Mindoro in the 37 priority provinces for nutrition programs (since Occidental Mindoro has the highest underweight and stunting prevalence among the provinces in MiMaRoPa), start maintaining a database of the weights of pregnant and lactating women as well as women of reproductive age by the DOH, provision of guidelines to the RNC on the supplementary feeding programs of DepEd and DSWD, and the deferment of RNC Resolution No. 2 s. 2017: Enjoining the LGUs to create the position of a Nutrition Action Officer until the release of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 10862: Nutrition and Dietetics Law of 2016 to prevent overlapping of functions of the position to be created.
The adoption of the PPAN 2017-2022 and other major agreements during the meeting is a productive start for the RNC member agencies to continuously find sustainable efforts to address the persistent and emerging nutritional problems in MiMaRoPa and spark multi-sectoral actions towards achieving a malnutrition-free region. //jlbv
