PALO, Leyte - The National Nutrition Council (NNC) in Eastern Visayas on Thursday led the regional launching of the 2021 Nutrition Month Celebration.

With the theme "Malnutrisyon Patuloy na Labanan, First 1000 Days Tutukan!", the annual celebration kicked off with a motorcade participated in by various nutrition stakeholders and advocates in the region.

Joining from the government sector were the Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Food and Drugs Administration, Department of Science and Technology, PhilHealth, Office of the Civil Defense, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Agriculture, Philippine Statistics Authority, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Philippine Ports Authority, Commission on Population, Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Environmental Management Bureau, National Economic Development Authority, Department of Agrarian Reform, Philippine Coconut Authority, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Labor and Employment, and the Philippine Information Agency.

Also, present were representatives of Eastern Visayas Medical Center, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Budget and Management, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Eastern Visayas State University, Leyte Provincial Nutrition Office, An Waray Party List, Tacloban City Nutrition Office and its officials and volunteers from Brgy. 84 and 71.

Non-government organizations who joined were Save the Children, Plan International, World Vision, Nutritionist Dietitians Association of the Philippines, and the media arm of NNC8, the Harmonized Initiative of Media for the Spread of Good Nutrition.

NNC assisted in facilitating the motorcade and ensuring that minimum public health protocols are strictly observed were the local government units of Palo and Tacloban City through its traffic enforcers.

The activity was followed by a press conference at Hotel Alejandro in Tacloban City, with RNPC Catalino P. Dotollo Jr. and representatives of DA and DOH as panelists.

The regional office has lined up other activities for the month-long celebration which aims to promote the First 1000 Days of life as a strategic intervention to prevent stunting and obesity, and curb malnutrition as a whole. #GSabalza