Cebu City – The National Nutrition Council Region 7 recently conducted the RNC Advocacy Meeting with Commission on Population and Development (CPD) Region 7  in the afternoon of February 28, 2022. 

The virtual activity was graced by  Atty. Bruce N. Ragas, Regional Director of CPD 7, and Dr. Parolita A. Mission, Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator of NNC 7. Furthermore, the meeting was also attended by four CPD 7 employees: Ms. Maria Lourdes Garillos, Ms. Sybel Alquzola, Ms. Jo-Ann Francine Maga, and Mr. Michael Pacios, and three NNC 7 employees: Ms. Shaira Camille T. Labastida, Ms. Norre Jean V. Delos Santos, and Ms. Mary Carmeli C. Garrovillo.

The advocacy meeting hopes to appraise the agency on the current nutrition situation of Central Visayas, discuss the agency’s nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programs and projects included in the Regional Plan of Action for Nutrition (RPAN), and share the importance nutrition investment.

One of the major agreements was the establishment of partnership of NNC 7 and CPD 7 through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The partnership between the two agencies hopes to strengthen the dissemination of proper nutrition among adolescents, and pregnant and lactating mothers. Moreover, the secretariat also noted that the official nutrition focal person for CPD 7 is Ms. Maria Lourdes A. Garillos. With the presence of the new focal person, the agency will have regular nutrition updates and provide needed inputs, especially in the RPAN accomplishments. 

The meeting lasted for an hour and a half with no further questions asked from both parties. The RNC secretariat will replicate the said meeting with other agencies to strongly advocate the importance of proper nutrition in all aspects of life. // ND II Labastida