On March 24, 2021, the Provincial Nutrition Committee (PNC) of Zamboanga del Sur (ZDS) conducted its First Quarterly Meeting at Balay Bisaya, Provincial Government Complex, Dao, Pagadian City. The meeting was attended by 21 PNC members from different concerned agencies and their representative, 4 District Nutrition Program Coordinators of the Provincial Nutrition Office, RNPC Ms. Nimfa D. Ekong, Nutrition Officer III Mr. Elton Pelegrino, PNC Ms. Marie-Claire Gaas.
The meeting was presided by Dr. Anatalio E. Cagampang, Jr. Chief of Hospital of ZDSMC, Officer in-charge of the Provincial Health Office and the Vice-Chair of the PNC of Zamboange del Sur and was attended by members of the committee representing the LGU, National Government Agencies (provincial office) and civil society organizations.
The first agendum of the meeting was the Presentation of the 2020 ZDS OPT Results which was presented by Ms. Grace F. Sumogue (PNAO of ZDS). She also presented the ranking of malnutrition per municipality. For stunting, the Municipality of Ramon Magsaysay, ranks no. 1, while the Municipality of Labangan got the highest prevalence for wasting and the Municipality of Tabina has the highest prevalence for underweight.
The next agendum was the orientation on the Local Nutrition Committee (LNC) which was discussed by NNC 9 Nutrition Officer III Elton N. Pelegrino. He elaborated what LNC is all about including its composition as well as the roles, duties and functions of the committee and its members. He also explained that the functionality of the LNC particularly, PNC is very essential in improving the nutrition situation of the province.
Moreover, another agendum was the Overview of the Tutok Kainan: Dietary Supplementation Program which was discussed by NNC 9’s Provincial Nutrition Coordinator for ZDS Ms. Marie-Claire A. Gaas. She emphasized the salient points of the guidelines, the objective of the Tutok Kainan program, selection of the target areas and target beneficiaries and overall information of the program.
Furthermore, NO III Pelegrino shared this year's Nutrition Month theme: “Malnutrisyon patuloy na labanan, First 1000 days tutukan", emphasizing the significance of the first 1000 days of life. Before the adjournment, Ms. Nimfa D. Ekong (RNPC-NNC IX) was requested to give her message. In her remarks, she extended her appreciation for inviting NNC IX and attendance of the PNC members during their 1st quarter meeting. Likewise she encouraged each member to take part in solving the problem of malnutrition in the province as well as in the region because she believes that together we can address all forms of malnutrition. Lastly, the meeting was adjourned with all members bringing with them a big responsibility and strong conviction of making a difference in their locality.
PNC-ZDS Marie Claire A. Gaas
