Region VII

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

Talibon, Bohol – Bringing more meaning to relevant food and nutrition data gathered, two successive trainings for Early Warning System for Food and Nutrition Security (EWS-FNS) for both the municipal and barangay levels were conducted for the Municipality of Buenavista, Bohol on 10-11 March and 12-13 March 2015, respectively at the Berachah Inland Resort and Recreation Center, Talibon, Bohol.

The EWS-FNS is a component of the Philippine Food and Nutrition Surveillance System intended to enable LGUs to take timely nutrition actions through early detection of a worsening nutrition situation based on monitoring of nutrition and nutrition-related indicators.

As the only pilot EWS area in Central Visayas, the local government unit of Buenavista, Bohol, will be entering an agreement with the National Nutrition Council for the organization and activation of their EWS teams. Buenavista was selected because the municipality has one of the highest prevalence rate of malnutrition in the entire region based on the 2013 Operation Timbang results.

The Early Warning System on Food and Nutrition Security Training is done to strengthen the capacity of the municipality for data collection, analysis and interpretation, and maintenance of the food and nutrition security early warning system, all of which will be used for decision making for nutrition related interventions.

The EWS team have selected Mr. Lino Divinagracia, Municipal Agriculture Officer as the team leader and Mr. Efren Logroño, Municipal Planning and Development Officer as the alternate team leader. The rest of the team members include representatives from the MHO, MSWDO, DepEd, Sangguniang Bayan Office, MDRRMC, Provincial Nutrition Office and the Women’s Sector.

Participants of the second part: Household level Survey Enumerators Training were the barangay captains, the rural health midwives, barangay nutrition scholars and barangay health workers of the five (5) sentinel barangays of Daet Norte, East Cabul-an, Cantuba, Overland and Panghagban. The sentinel barangays were identified during the 28-29 January 2015 Consultative Workshop. Surveys will start on the 2^nd week of April 2015.

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

Bais City – Braving the scalding summer heat and the traffic off the National Highway where the event was held, six participant groups composed of 5 members each held their breath as they wait for the announcements to be made in the conclusion of the three-day 10 Kumainment Mural Painting Contest awarding ceremony conducted in front of their finished masterpieces on the walls of Bais City Pilot School on 10 April 2015. The Mural Painting Contest was initiated by the Media Information Network for Nutrition and Development (MIND 7) of NNC 7 with the Bais City Nutrition Committee. Bais CNC Chair Mayor Mercedes T. Goñi graced the awarding ceremony.

The event was a product of the brainstorming done by a multi-sectoral group put together to come up with strategies to promote the 10 Nutritional Guidelines for Filipinos (NGF), and was later adopted by the MIND 7 in their 2015 Media Plan to raise awareness of the NGF in nutritionally at-risk populations. According to NPC Dr. Parolita A. Mission, the mural painting contest also aims to encourage the high school students and their families to practice good nutrition by involving them in the conceptualization and execution of the mural painting project. The involvement of families was specifically suggested by MIND 7 President and Station Manager of 103.5 RETRO Cebu, Mr. Raul H. Roxas to inclulcate the value of family, an important trait wanting these days.

Aside from being one of the highest raters in terms of malnutrition, Bais City was also chosen as the venue of said project because of its proximity to nutritionally depressed communities as well as that the area is accessible to different points in Negros Oriental.

The activity ended with Ms. Lesly Comiso-Magalso, chairperson of the Board of Judges and MIND 7 member announcing the winner of the contest as entry number 2 for Kumainment #3 for the first prize, followed by entry number 5: Kumainment #9 and the third prize going to entry number 6: Kumainment #10 with prizes at Php 8,000, Php 5,000 and Php 3,000 respectively. Bais CNC Chair and Mayor Goñi also gave her own “Mayor’s Choice” artistic rewards. //NGS

Details: Category: Region 7; Published: 29 May 2015

Jagna, Bohol – Delayed from its original National Evaluation schedule in March, the Municipality of Jagna finally gets its chance to prove itself worthy of the elusive 2^nd Year Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition (CROWN) Award as the evaluation pushes through on the 26-29 May 2015.

Made up of five members, the National Evaluation Team, composed of NO III Ma. Cynthia B. Vengco (NNC 7), NO II Armand P. Manglicmot, ND I Eden Rouela M. Ruta (NFP, representing PHILCAN), SDS II Michael Dominic Z. Padlan (NEDA) and Mr. Teodoro Pelaez (Photo documenter) have come to examine every nook and cranny of the town’s nutrition implementation and verify their eligibility as 2^nd year CROWN awardee.

To be able to prove themselves, the Jagna Municipal Nutrition Committee have to reach a score of 95%, a cumulative score from various NET activities such as municipal and barangay document desk reviews, validation weighing of pre-school children, interviews and site visitations, factors that will contribute to the determination if Jagna, indeed has the “X-factor”.

With all its efforts and their resolve to be the fifth town in the province of Bohol and in Central Visayas to claim the coveted Nutrition Honor Award, the municipality of Jagna continue to give their best in nutrition implementation as they await the NET verdict.

Meanwhile the Regional Evaluation Team is looking for an LGU to follow Jagna’s footsteps in nutrition success. //NGS

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

Bais City, Negros Oriental - The Media Information Network for Nutrition and Development 7 (MIND 7), National Nutrition Council 7’s media network turns the spotlight from the hustle and bustle of Metro Cebu to the easy going City of Bais on its fourth annual media caravan held on 10 April 2015. The caravan which started with a meeting with the City Nutrition Committee, was also highlighted with a visit in the city’s Ozonized Water Refilling station and Barangay Talungon, its best barangay nutrition committee and ended with the awarding ceremony for the MIND 7- initiated 10 Kumainment Mural Painting Contest.

Aiming to give MIND 7 members a glimpse of what the nutrition is like at one of the more nutritionally at-risk areas, the caravan showcased how the Bais City Nutrition Committee strategize interventions to cope with high incidences of malnutrition in the area. From the Ozonized Water Refilling Station in order to lessen cases of waterborne diseases and bringing free clean water to the city’s indigent groups, to Barangay Talungon, Bais City’s best Barangay Nutrition Committee who have specific under nutrition based programs.

The caravan was concluded at the 10 Kumainment Mural Painting Contest Awarding Ceremony, an event that was originally planned for the promotion of the 10 Nutritional Guidelines and was adopted in the 2015 MIND 7 Work Plan, intended to stimulate awareness of the 10 Kumainments to the general public in a strategic venue and with the cooperation from the community.

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

Madridejos, Cebu – All roads led to Madridejos in the Island of Bantayan, North Cebu on 11 June 2015, as the Pantawid Pamilya Inter-agency Convergence Caravan takes its major services, programs and projects to the otherwise sleepy island municipality.

The National Nutrition Council led by NPC Dr. Parolita A. Mission and her team composed BNS Coordinator Lucia C. Arellano, AA III Eduardo B. Baguio and Bantayan Is. BNS Association President Joseph Chaves, joined other national line agencies such as DOH, DOLE, DA, DTI, DAR, DENR, TESDA, DepEd, DILG and DSWD to provide its brand of nutrition services.

The team oomphed up basic nutrition education with interactive nutrition games on the 10 Kumainments as a bid to increase awareness amongst the more than 400 Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries in the area.

Fully loaded with recipe books, 10 Kumainments fans and sample iodized salt as prizes and giveaways, the NNC 7 team has certainly gained not only the attention of the Caravan beneficiaries, they have also earned Central Visayas another batch of nutritionally well informed community.

The activity, which was led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 7, is aimed to bring government services to areas with high incidence and magnitude of the poor in the region.//NGS

Details: Category: Region 7; Published: 13 February 2015

Cebu City – Upon the review of the Regional Strategic Plan for 2012-2016, during the 1^st Q RNC-TWG meeting on 04-05 February 2015, the Regional Nutrition Committee – Technical Working Group has recognized the need for it to be given a major refurbishment to fit nutrition program interventions with the latest survey results.

During the two-day meeting at the Golden Peak Hotel, Cebu City, the body led by RNC-TWG Chair Ms. Melinda D. Cañares of DSWD 7 and NPC Dr. Parolita A. Mission reviewed the region’s strategic plan that was drafted some four years ago to update the plan and better fit it to the current nutritional landscape of the region.

Now nearing the conclusion of the strategic plan implementation which targeted to end in 2016, the Regional Nutrition Committee is hard pressed to reach the targets it has set at the start of the planning period, some of which have not impacted the nutrition progress in the region.

And thus, the RNC-TWG called for an overhaul to be scheduled for March 2015 for an in-depth analysis of which targets are to be maintained and which targets should be refurbished to suit the current regional needs.

The RNC may fall short a few steps back at the moment, but it is ready to make a giant leap towards the improvement in the nutritional status of Central Visayas.//NGS