Enrique Villanueva, Siquijor – Considered the smallest town in the province of Siquijor, the Municipality of Enrique Villanueva in the Province of Siquijor has been consistent in ensuring that services reach all its constituents. For the Municipal Nutrition Committee (MNC), the COVID-19 pandemic does not hinder the nutrition program implementation, rather it has served as a challenge for the MNC to devise new ways to ensure the continued delivery of nutrition services.

With the aid of its very active health and nutrition network, the MNC along with its 14 Barangay Nutrition Committees regularly monitors the nutritional status of children through house-to-house visits with strict observance of health protocols. To ensure that the community has access to a continuous and cost-free supply of nutritious food, the nutrition committee encouraged and enabled households to have backyard gardens. Municipal and barangay-level nutrition program implementation is monitored by the MNC virtually. In the same way, the MNC also regularly meets to innovate strategies to address emerging challenges brought about by the pandemic through effective policymaking and evidence-based nutrition initiatives. One such initiative is the Adopt a Child Program, which includes a 120-day feeding program, which was also strengthened through firm coordination with Enrique Villanueva Police Station which greatly reduced the cases of malnutrition in the municipality. 

Aside from the health burden of malnutrition, the MNC also responded to the increasing cases of non-communicable diseases particularly hypertension and diabetes mellitus through regular blood pressure monitoring and fasting blood glucose tests. The dedication and hard work of the members of MNC keep its malnutrition rate at less than 1% of the date. //NGS