Cebu City – The National Nutrition Council Region VII headed by the Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator, Dr. Parolita A. Mission, with ND II Franz Cassandra R. Ontina and ND II Geraldine Mae S. Pausanos updated the DOH Development Management Officers of Cebu on the status of the nutrition program in the province. The session was held on 9 February 2023 at the DOH CV CHD Conference Room. It was attended by 17 DMOs province-wide.
Under the National Health Workforce Support System (NHWSS), the DOH deploys Human Resources for Health in Nutrition through the Nutrition Dietitian Deployment Program. NDDPs are deployed to various priority areas in the province to catalyze and scale up nutrition action at the local government unit level.
Discussed during the session were the status of the functionality of local nutrition committees, the status of anthropometric tools, and capacity maps. The DMOs were also oriented on the tasks and deliverables of the NNDPs and the roles of DMOs in the nutrition program as culled from their mandated responsibilities as well as the reporting mechanism. NPC Dr. Mission also shared the mandates and programs of the NNC and the imperative of investing in nutrition.
As of writing, there is only one NDDP deployed in the province of Cebu. But the DOH and NNC 7 is in the process of hiring additional human resource for nutrition. With the additional human resource and strong coordination with the DMOs, the NNC 7 anticipates a strengthened nutrition program implementation in the province. / ND II Franz Cassandra R. Ontina, RND