Asturias, Cebu – The parents of fifty (50) school children in this municipality were appreciative of the nutrition balancing program. “Sa una, akong anak wala’y gana mo kaon, maskin unsaon og pa feeding wala juy gana ug dili maka focus sa pag answer sa module. Karon, ganado na siya was mo kaon ug sakto na sa oras iyang pag-kaon” says Joy (not her real name) during an interview conducted by the Rural Health Midwife, Ms. Mae Lurleen Maravillas on 09 December 2021. Joy was so grateful that her child was selected as one of the beneficiaries, since then she was able to observe significant improvement to her child’s weight gain and appetite in eating.

The Nutrition Balancing Program is a nutrition specific program initiated by a non-government organization operating in Asturias in partnership with municipal social development office and municipal health office thru Ms. Maravillas. Started in 19 July 2021, it involves a distribution of packs containing vitamin supplementation and nutritional powder drink to malnourished school children based on Operation Timbang Plus. Asturias was selected because of its increasing prevalence of malnutrition among school children.

Piloted in barangays Langub, Looc Norte, Owak and Poblacion, the parents of enrolled children were given a weekly supply of nutritional packs good for a week’s consumption. Every Tuesday, within one hundred twenty (120) days, beneficiaries are gathered for weight monitoring and distribution of nutritional packs.

With the success of the pilot program implementation, the Municipal Nutrition Committee will expand this appetite boosting project to other barangays of the municipality. // ND II Hannah May P. Belda, RND