Addressing malnutrition is a year-round concern of everyone. Although Nutrition Month is only celebrated annually every July as an annual campaign, its intention to raise awareness among Filipinos about the importance of nutrition must echo agelessly. This campaign is under the mandate under Presidential Decree 491, also known as the Nutrition Act of the Philippines. Last year’s campaign bore the theme "Malnutrisyon Patuloy na Labanan, First 1000 Days Tutukan!" aiming to raise awareness on the nutrition issues and encourages all members of the society to pursue and sustain efforts to combat malnutrition, with the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition 2017-2022 serving as the framework. It also emphasizes the importance of increasing interventions in the first 1000 days of life by strengthening the implementation of Republic Act 11148 (Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act). Moreso, it has also made it a point that continuing to address malnutrition and mitigating any further deterioration must be given utmost importance even during this time of the pandemic.
As part of the LGU efforts to end all forms of malnutrition, the municipality of Siayan in the Province of Zamboanga del Norte (LGU-Siayan) launched its innovative Nutrition Programs and Medical Consultation in the Community last July 2021. The activities include micronutrient and food packs distribution, BUNTIS CONGRESS, distribution of hygiene and COVID kits, “The Biggest Loser Challenge”, and “Malnourished Fastest Rehabilitation Challenge”. The LGU allocated one million twenty-four thousand and eight hundred ten pesos (P1,024,810.00) for the project. This aims to foster information dissemination on the importance of having ideal weight and providing assistance to the malnourished children including the parents, barangay health workers, and barangay nutrition scholars as motivating workforce to increase knowledge on the First 1000 days and PPAN as an overall framework. Likewise, this also facilitates collaboration among various stakeholders for scaled-up interventions to fight malnutrition, reduce malnutrition prevalence, and early detection of disabilities among children. Beneficiaries of the program included 512 families with underweight, wasted, and stunted children and 1,134 children ages 6 months to 23 months.
The challenge officially started last July 30, 2021. To win the challenge, all malnourished participants must achieve normal nutritional status by December 15, 2021. Out of 40 participants, only 4 children have achieved normal nutritional status in the Malnourished Fastest Rehabilitation Challenge. The guardians or parents of the winning participant together with their assigned Barangay Health Worker (BHW) or Barangay Nutrition Scholar (BNS) received a cash prize of Php 5, 000.00 each. There are 35 overweight and obese individuals who participated in the Biggest Loser Challenge. Only three of them have reached their ideal weight and received a cash prize of Php 10,000.00 each. All non-winning participants received a yoga mat and a tumbler as consolation prizes. The fastest rehabilitation challenge was complemented with nutrition interventions including 120 days feeding program, distribution of food packs, PAGLAUM project, distribution of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), and distribution of micronutrient powder to malnourished children.
Despite the fact that all the winners have been awarded last December of 2021, still, these nutrition interventions will remain among the continuing initiatives of the LGU to eventually fully manage the malnutrition problem in the locality. Accordingly, LGU-Siayan, headed by Municipal Mayor Atty. Josecor S. Gepolongca, with Municipal Nutrition Action Officer Ms. Judalyn Dompales and Municipal Health Officer Dr. Raymund P. Nadela together with the rest of the members of the Municipal Nutrition Committee, is committed to continuing in scaling up their nutrition interventions especially in the first 1000 days of child’s life. Likewise, the National Nutrition Council IX enjoins all LGUs to support nutrition by investing in the critical nutrition programs by replicating these initiatives that LGU-Siayan have conceived. “By working together, we can end all forms of malnutrition. Let us scale up critical actions in the first 1000 days of life!”
-PNFP Rowence F. Zorilla, RND
