2 August 2022, Cagayan de Oro City – The Misamis Occidental Province was validated by the National Evaluation Team (NET) last 25-27 July 2022 for its contention to the Nutrition Honor Award (NHA). The NHA is the most coveted award for nutrition awarded by the National Nutrition Council (NNC) to a local government unit (LGU).

The following were the NET members who facilitated the validation visit: Dr. Azucena M. Dayanghirang, Assistant Secretary and Executive Director IV of NNC, Ms. Racelline Faye D. Calangi, Nutrition Officer of NNC, and Ms. Belinda A. Lalap, Participative Nutrition Enhancement Approach Coordinator of the Barangay Integrated Development Approach for Nutrition Improvement (BIDANI) Network of University of the Philippines Los Baños.

The team paid a courtesy call to Vice Governor and Provincial Nutrition Committee (PNC) Co-Chair Rowena L. Gutierrez. An opening program was also held, attended by PNC members including Board Member Tata Paylaga-Lim and Governor Henry S. Oaminal’s Executive Assistants, to discuss the overview of the evaluation activity, as well as the accomplishments of the PNC. ASec. Dayanghirang gave an inspirational message where she commended the full support of the PNC and encouraged them to continue to work together for the nutrition programs.

After which, the NET proceeded with the review of pertinent PNC documents, the bulk of which are on the 2021 accomplishments and prevalence of malnutrition indicators.

The team also visited the "Cafe Layan", a Gulayan sa Paaralan of Mangidkid Elementary School in the municipality of Plaridel to check the school's best practices in scaling up the Gulayan sa Paaralan Program of Department of Education.

The validation visit for the NHA concluded with the presentation of the initial findings, recommendations, and learning discussion by the NET. In response, the PNC members also gave their feedback and commitments to the findings and areas for improvement.

As of date, there are nine (9) LGUs in Northern Mindanao awarded with the NHA, and the Province of Misamis Occidental is hoping to be the tenth LGU in the region’s list of nutrition exemplars. (Nutrition Officer III Sheena Marie G. Talle / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 09631091098)