TACLOBAN CITY – The Harmonized Initiatives of Media for the Spread of Good Nutrition in Region 8 (HIMSoG-8), has joined the National Technical Assistance Monitoring and Evaluation (TAME) Team and representative from private evaluator Info-Share during its last salvo of Media-Nutrition Caravan for year 2018 to the Accelerated and Sustainable Anti-Poverty Program (ASAPP) areas of Baybay City and Mahaplag town of Leyte province on October 24-25, this year.

ASAPP, a central government program that aims to accelerate poverty reduction by boosting economic growth in localities through public-private interventions, is being piloted in selected cities and municipalities in 10 provinces nationwide, classified as Category 1 in the Updated Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016. In Eastern Visayas this includes the three towns and one city of Leyte namely: Abuyog, Mahaplag, Hilongos and Baybay City.

Among the components of ASAPP is “health and nutrition,” in which the National Nutrition Council Region VIII (NNC-8) and its partner agencies in the region is currently implementing the Early Childhood Care and Development - Intervention Package (ECCD-IP) for First 1000 Days, in the ASAPP towns of Leyte all in 5th District.

The National TAME Team was composed of Faye Calangi from the NNC central office, Wenona Caguiloa from the Department of Budget Management and Joselito Layola from the National Dairy Authority; and from the private evaluator Info-Share was Marialisa Saño. Both teams were on a 5-day evaluation of the ECCD on 22-26 October 2018.

The ECCD-IP for First 1000 Days, in accord with the Early Years Act (RA 10410), refers to full range of health, nutrition, early education, and social services development program for the holistic needs of young children. It further narrows down the age-group First 1000 Days of life, referred as “golden window of opportunity” for the child’s growth and development--that includes the time of conception (pregnancy), until the baby is born and two years of age. The program is now on its 2nd year of implementation in the ASAPP areas.

Meanwhile the Media-Nutrition Caravan of HIMSoG-8, the media-group partner of NNC-8 in the fight against hunger and malnutrition and Promotion of Good Nutrition through media power in Eastern Visayas, is among the media-group’s nutrition advocacy activities--to see how a certain locality is doing nutritionally, why it is lagging in health and nutrition as well as to document their good practices if they are doing well, for other places to emulate. The activity seeks out the rationale for the Nutrition Situation of the target localities, and to learn how its leaders are managing the situation.

Headed by its President Antonio Pueblos, the media group HIMSoG-8, joined the ECCD evaluators teams in their monitoring and evaluation of the nutrition-intervention program implementation in the city of Baybay and the town of Mahaplag--visiting three villages in each area. (Jack C. Gadaingan)