Cebu City - The National Nutrition Council Region VII conducted the Local Nutrition Early Warning System – Food and Nutrition Security (LNEWS-FNS) Program Implementation Review (PIR). Central Visayas has 6 LNEWS-FNS areas namely the municipalities of Buenavista and Pilar in Bohol Province, the municipalities of Alcantara, Carmen, and Dalaguete from the province of Cebu, and Bais City in Negros Oriental.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, the country has undergone several changes in its food, nutrition, and economic environment which affect the community’s nutritional status. Any available data in the areas can provide qualitative and quantitative data to help understand the effects of COVID-19 on food accessibility, availability, and utilization in the region.

NNC 7 held the PIR in these areas as an annual monitoring activity to assess and see the changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and Typhoon Odette in these areas.

Conducted virtually and in two batches held on 07 and 11 October 2022, it was attended by the LGU’s LNEWS Core Group and the sentinel barangays. The barangays were able to present data collected from the four previous quarters including results of household food shortage, household diet diversity, gaps, and challenges of encountered in the areas. With lessons deduced from the PIR, NNC 7 and members of the core group hope for a better implementation of LNEWS-FNS in 2023 and beyond. // ND II Franz Cassandra R. Ontina, RND