ZAMBOANGA PENINSULA--As the Philippine government embarks in the journey of eradicating malnutrition in the country, the Regional Nutrition and Anti-Hunger Committee (RNAHC) together with the National Nutrition Council Regional Office IX successfully celebrated the 48th Nutrition Month in Region IX. The month-long Nutrition Month Celebration commenced and had concluded through a Joint Regional and City Launching and Culmination in the City of Zamboanga on July 4 and 26, respectively, with various events conducted in between. Meanwhile, other Regional Line Agencies (RLAs) and the component Local Government Units (LGUs) in the region hanged their streamers in support to the celebration and also conducted their local-level launchings, nutrition-related activities and culminating programs to re-echo the campaign in their respective localities and offices. This is in accordance to Presidential Decree (PD) 491, also known as the Nutrition Act of the Philippines, which mandates the entire country to celebrate Nutrition Month in July.
During the regional launching, the National Nutrition Council IX (NNC9), through its Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator (RNPC) Ms. Nimfa D. Ekong, took the opportunity of handing over a printed copy of the Compendium of Local Ordinances on Nutrition to the City Government of Zamboanga which contains one of the significant policies coming from the LGU which is the City Ordinance No. 261 “An enabling ordinance to implement Republic Act No. 8172 also known as ASIN Law, An Act Promoting Salt Iodization Nationwide”. The copy of the said pertinent compilation of policies was received by the newly-installed Local Chief Executive and Chairperson of the Local Nutrition Committee Hon. John M. Dalipe together with the City Legislators headed by Hon. Vice Mayor Josephine E. Pareja. The event was also made worthwhile through a Nutrition Exhibit which was participated by the different RLAs, state universities and colleges, civil society organizations (CSOs) and other nutrition partners and stakeholders.
NNC9 followed the regional launching with numerous activities that transpired in different occasions. Among these were a series of thematic symposia for the provinces and cities as well as webinars in collaboration with the Philippine Information Agency IX and the Zamboanga City Schools Division of the Department of Education IX which were done virtually and were simultaneously streamed live via NNC9’s Facebook page. NNC9 also engaged in various social media platforms and guested in different radio stations and televisions to augment its endeavor of spreading further the key messages of the nutrition campaign. Likewise, NNC9 also served as Resource Person as per invitation by RLAs and CSOs and other organizations
Bearing the theme, "New Normal na Nutrisyon, Sama-samang Gawan ng Solusyon", this year’s campaign aims to raise awareness on how supporting nutrition can support recovery from the pandemic as we all build our resistance for future shocks. Also, like in other nutrition month campaigns, the campaign wants the different stakeholders to talk about how everyone can build back better nutrition interventions, and lastly, it encourages more engagements with various sectors so that they too can support nutrition. It delivers the six key messages to call upon all stakeholders to take appropriate actions. The key words in the theme are new normal, nutrisyon and sama-sama. The first three messages pertain to the importance of nutrition to improve an individual’s resistance against disease and at the same time with improved nutrition, the recovery of a family, community and the nation will be supported. The next set of messages relate to the sama-samang gawan ng solusyon. It calls for solidarity through multi-sectoral engagements and improved governance to be able to attain nutritional outcomes. Because of the pandemic, the solutions to end malnutrition need to have a resilience-lens so that when pandemics or similar shocks occur in the future, Filipinos will be able to bounce back and recover quickly.
The 2022 Nutrition Month Celebration officially concluded in the region with RNPC Ekong’s strong message of encouragement enjoining everyone to continue to take part in the collective efforts of making a difference in the lives of their neighbors and constituents as nutrition advocates. She also expressed her sincerest appreciation for the invaluable contribution of all LGUs, nutrition partners and stakeholders making the month-long celebration of the 48th Nutrition Month in the region a success and reminded them to always be responsive to the call of social responsibility so that inclusive prosperity as well as holistic improvement of the nutritional wellbeing will be felt by all residents in Zamboanga Peninsula. #2022NutritionMonth #NutrisyongSapatParaSaLahat #NewNormalNaNutrisyon
NO III Elton N. Pelegrino, RN
