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- Category: Region 10
The Northern Mindanao Infant and Young Child Feeding Regional Task Force (IYCF TF) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) together with NorMin bus company owners and operators recently joined hands to support the move to designate Breastfeeding (BF) Seats in all public utility bus operating in the region. This was disclosed during a consultative meeting held last April 15 to solicit the support of critical stakeholders and generate inputs for the finalization of the IYCF TF Resolution requesting the LTFRB to issue a directive to all NorMin bus operators to designate a BF seat inside their buses.
This BF Seat initiative was brought out transpired the IYCF Stakeholder’s Meeting held in October 2015 organized by the DOH RO X as a response to the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009 (RA 10028) which seeks to create an environment where basic physical, emotional, and psychological needs of mothers and infants are fulfilled through the practice of breastfeeding. Said Republic Act also mandates for the establishment of lactation stations accessible to breastfeeding women as may be appropriate whether it be in health or non-health facilities, establishments, or institutions, including public places.
As suggested by LTFRB 10, once signed, the Resolution on the BF Seat initiative will be forwarded to the LTFRB main office as a trigger to a national policy or issuance. Atty. Solayman Macatoon Jr., LTFRB 10 Hearing Officer, claims that if ever, the attempt of the NorMin IYCF TF to call for a national issuance for a BF Seat will be a pioneering effort. In the meantime, LTFRB 10 can issue a memo directive to enjoin local bus liners to support the move.
The NorMin IYCF TF is chaired by the DOH RO X with the National Nutrition Council X as Vice-Chairperson. kjco
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- Category: Region 10
"DOH will have to build efficiency, multi-sectoral approach, strong teams and global positioning".
This was the pronouncement of DOH Secretary Janette P. Loreto-Garin during the 4th National Staff Meeting (NSM) held April 27-28, 2016 at the Pearlmont Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City with the theme “Performance and Power in the Health Sector".
Secretary Garin underscored the importance of ensuring that the whole Department works as one family and as a "power team" with a collective effort to leave a legacy in the health sector. She also stressed the need to harness the Department's strengths to attain more areas for growth in health in the next medium term.
Towards this, the Department is set to define a "bolder vision" and implement initial strategic adjustments which includes among others: 1) a comprehensive and specialized capacity building for program managers to manage more complex programs equipped with appropriate public health ethics at the same time; 2) reorienting the model of care through a "patient-centered care" in DOH hospitals and 3) integrated and innovative health regulations that will protect Filipinos from making wrong decisions or choices.
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- Category: Region 10
April 8, 2016. The Garantisadong Pambata (GP) of the Department of Health Region X commences this week with the theme “Kalusugan ng Bata ay Sigurado, basta i-GP Mo!”. GP is a national strategy supporting Micronutrient Supplementation to reduce childhood illnesses and deaths by promoting positive child care behaviors.
The National Nutrition Council links GP to the First 1000 Days of the Child as GP is part of the critical interventions during this window of opportunity for the child’s optimum growth and development.
The National Nutrition Council (NNC) announces the theme for this year’s Nutrition Month celebration in July which is “First 1000 Days ni baby pahalagahan para sa malusog na kinabukasan.” The theme focuses on the first 1000 days of life starting from conception and before the second birthday of the child. It is during this period when growth faltering happens. Many studies have shown a link between undernutrition, especially stunting, in the first years of life and overnutrition in the later years. Thus, the First 1000 Days has been called the “golden window of opportunity” for a comprehensive package of nutrition and related interventions to achieve significant changes in reduction in child stunting, underweight and wasting, at the same time contribute to complete child development.
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- Category: Region 10
The Department of Education (DepEd) Region X recently signaled a boost to its involvement in nutrition improvement in Northern Mindanao by issuing a Regional Memorandum entitled “DepEd Region X as Member of the Regional Nutrition Committee (RNC) X”. Said Regional Memorandum issued on March 14, 2016 by the newly installed DepEd X Regional Director Allan G. Farnazo to strengthen DepEd’s commitment as member of RNC X.
More specifically, the Regional Memorandum directs all concerned DepEd personnel to ensure representation not only at the regional level but at the Local Nutrition Committees (LNC) of every province city and municipality and actively participate in the meetings and activities of the R/LNCs. The same Memorandum reiterates the sharing of agency data during meetings particularly on the Nutritional Assessment and School-Based Supplementary Feeding Program of schoolchildren in Pre-Elementary to Grade VI and other nutrition related concerns. It also directs DepEd personnel to actively participate in the conduct of the annual Monitoring and Evaluation of the Local Level Plan Implementation (MELLPI).
DepEd X also assured the RNC X that only the prescribed nutritional assessment tools are used in schools to ensure accuracy of results. To date, the agency has been continuously implementing health and nutrition programs not only for school children but for teaching and non-teaching personnel as well for a healthy and active lifestyle. srdc
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- Category: Region 10
The goal of improving the nutrition situation in Northern Mindanao remains to be the top priority of the Regional Nutrition Committee X for 2016. Led by its Chairperson DOH X Regional Director Nimfa B. Torrizo, the Committee will continue to unify all relevant stakeholders and advance efforts in addressing all forms of malnutrition in the region.
To drumbeat RNC X efforts for 2016, three priority resolutions were approved during the Committee’s March 8 2016 First Quarter Meeting at the N Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City. These are: RNC Resolution No 1 , S. 2016: Approving and Adopting the Nutrition in Emergencies (NiEm) Plan of the Regional Nutrition Cluster X; RNC Resolution No 2, S. 2016: Streamlining the Regional Bantay Asin Task Force (RBATF) Making the Task Force a Sub-Structure of the Regional Nutrition Committee Amending RNC Resolution No. 6 s. of 2014 and RNC Resolution No 3, S. 2016: Reiterating the Use of the Prescribed Weight & Height Measuring Tools among LGUs.
The Committee underscored the need to mainstream the Regional NiEm Plan Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (RDRRM) Plan and directed NNC X to coordinate with the Office of Civil Defense on the matter. Similarly, NNC X was tasked to ensure that Resolution No. 3 is elevated to the Regional Development Council X through the Social Development Committee X for advocacy and support. The Committee envisions that support from RDC X will help address OPT Plus data reliability issues in some LGUs.
During the same meeting, the RBATF X Work Plan for CY 2016 was approved where the RBATF members pledged support in implementing the critical activities for the “Saktong Iodine sa Asin” campaign. A workshop on defining the RBATF X operational procedure is being proposed. srdc/pcgd
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- Category: Region 10
The Department of Health and the Office of Civil Defense, Region 10 sponsored a three-day training on Basic Incident Command System (ICS) held on April 4-6, 2016 at Pearlmont Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City. A total of 31 participants attended the training composed of 29 DOH RO X staff and two NNC X personnel. Through exercises and classroom discussions, the participants were able to demonstrate knowledge of basic ICS functions including a written Incident Action Plan and simulate an Incident Operational Briefing.
One of the highlights of the training was a discussion of how the ICS as a life-saving response relates with the International Standards on Humanitarian Response through the cluster approach. Mr. Patrick Alain S. Callanta, OCD X Operations Chief facilitated the three-day training.
Mr. Jasper Kent Ola, Nurse V, DOH X RESDRU, reiterated that the participants’ profile together with the photocopy of the training certificates will be submitted to DOH Central Office to be included in the directory of trained personnel. This automatically lists them as part of the pool of ICS responders.
Also during the training, OCD, DOH and NNC X agreed that NNC X will be part of the RDRRMC and will attend its regular monthly meeting. OCD will also assist NNC X, as the regional nutrition cluster coordinator, on mainstreaming nutrition in emergencies in the updating of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan. pcgd
