Region VII

Details: Category: Region 7; Published: 30 April 2014

Cebu City- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) turned over the latest special instrument for measurement of iodine in iodized salt WYD to the National Nutrition Council Region VII during the 2nd Regional Management Conference held last 08 April 2014 at St. Mark Hotel, Cebu City.

The conference was participated by the various Nutrition Action Officers and District/City Nutrition Program Coordinators from all over the region. Discussed during the conference were updates and existing problems on the different nutrition-focused programs including the continuous monitoring of the consumption of iodized salt regionwide.

Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD) refers to the ill-effects of iodine deficiency in a population that can be prevented by ensuring that the population has adequate intake of iodine. The ASIN Law was created under Republic Act No. 8172, to contribute to the elimination of micronutrient malnutrition in the country, particularly iodine deficiency disorders through the cost-effective preventive measure of salt iodization. It requires all producers, manufacturers of food-grade salt to iodize the salt that they produce, manufacture, import trade or distribute based on the standards set by the government.

Details: Category: Region 7; Published: 14 May 2014

Cebu City – Close monitoring of adequately iodized salt use will soon be done in hotels, food chains and even culinary schools when provincial and city Bantay Asin Task Forces will be formed in Central Visayas.

In a resolution approved during a meeting held on 02 May 2014 at the Golden Valley Hotel, the National Nutrition Council 7 and the Regional Bantay Asin Task Force 7 agreed that the organizing of bantay asin task forces will soon be underway in the provinces of Bohol, Cebu and Negros Oriental and the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-lapu.

The formation of Bantay Asin Task Forces is seen to promote and ensure the use of adequately iodized salt in households, food establishments, hotels and culinary schools as well as monitor the availability of iodized salt in markets and groceries in the region.

Details: Category: Region 7; Published: 15 September 2015

Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur – Relatively a rookie in managing community radio stations, DYNE Radyo Kahimsug, went on a soul searching trip to the northern part of the country to get tips from one the Philippine’s more successful community radio station, 97.3 Radyo Kailian. Radyo Kahimsug is the second community radio station in Central Visayas.

Anchoring on the fact that both of the community radios are run by State Colleges, Radyo Kahimsug, which is run by the Cebu Technological University – Barili Campus is hopeful in getting tips in running a school-based community radio station from its Radyo Kailian counterpart. The station is under the supervision of NNC 7 and its media network MIND 7.

Radyo Kailian, situated at the Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College in the small town of Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur is two flights of one hour each plus a four hour road trip from Cebu City. It is run by the above mentioned school under the management of ISPSC President Dr. Rafael B. Querubin and by radio consultant Dr. Gloria Tuzon and is under the supervision of NNC 1 and its media network, RONDA 1.

Details: Category: Region 7; Published: 14 May 2014

Cebu – With the release of the Operation Timbang 2013 results, the overall incidence of undernutrition in the region has decreased from 5.66% in 2012 to 5.54% in 2013.

Negros Oriental Province had the highest incidence of malnutrition among the four (4) provinces at 7.36% up 0.20 percentage points from 7.13% in 2012. Following is Cebu Province which improved their malnutrition incidence at 7.16% in 2013, down 0.50% percentage points from 7.66% in 2012. Siquijor Province reduced the malnutrition incidence in the province from 6.56% in 2012, down 0.61 percentage points to 5.95% in 2013. Last is Bohol Province with an incidence of 5.30% in 2013, down 0.57 percentage points from 5.87% in 2013.

Among the sixteen (16) cities of Central Visayas, Guihulngan City (Negros Oriental) has the highest incidence of malnutrition at 10.24% in 2013, up 0.92 percentage points from 9.32% in 2012. Followed by Bais City (Negros Oriental) at 9.96% in 2013, up 0.32% from 2012. Naga City comes in next with a prevalence rate of 7.20% in 2013, down 3.75 percentage points, from 10.95% in 2012.

Details: Category: Region 7; Published: 15 September 2015

Tagbilaran City – It’s a wheel a-turning, a never ending process of training and re-training, for the National Nutrition Council Region 7 as the agency goes back to the province of Bohol to provide much needed technical updates for the old and new insights in nutrition program management for the new nutrition program managers.

Having forgone the province for few years in favor of its more nutritionally depressed neighbors in Central Visayas, there has been no participants invited for the annual Nutrition Program Management training from Bohol, until this year when the training itself was brought to the province.

The choice to return to Bohol was beneficial, as there has been a standstill in nutrition program management techniques, especially in the planning aspect, in the province. This was one of the observations noted by the members of the Regional Nutrition Evaluation Team during their recent monitoring and evaluation of local level implementation (MELLPI) in the island.

Details: Category: Region 7; Published: 30 May 2014

RNET Member Mr. Anton Valencia reviews Pamplona records The National Nutrition Council Region 7 through the Regional Nutrition Evaluation Team (RNET) is concluding its Monitoring and Evaluation of Local Level Plan Implementation (MELLPI) for year 2014 with its visit in Bohol province and Tagbilaran City on 05 – 11 June. This year’s MELLPI started last 30 March. The RNET led by the NNC Region 7 Program Coordinator, Dr.Parolita A. Mission in collaboration with the interagency evaluation team has been roaming around the region to monitor and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the local nutrition program implemented by the different local government units in the region.

The RNET has so far evaluated the cities of Mandaue, Talisay, Carcar, Cebu, Danao, Bogo, Lapu-lapu and Naga in Cebu and so with the cities of Dumaguete, Bayawan, Tanjay, Bais, Gihulngan, and Canlaon in Negros Oriental. The towns of Lilo-an, San Fernando, Malabuyoc, Tuburan, and Sogod in Cebu Province, the municipalities of Pamplona, Sta Catalina and Manjuyod in Negros Oriental and Larena, Siquijor and San Juan in Siquijor province have already been visited as well.

The RNET assessed the efficiency of the local nutrition action plan implementation of the above-mentioned LGUs by looking into how much of their plans have been achieved. The team also did validation weighing of at least 10% of the total preschool children of the sampled barangay and assessed the changes in the weight status of the LGUs’ preschool and school children who are the main beneficiaries of their nutrition programs. The team as well searched for any nutrition best practices/projects present in these LGUs.