BAGUIO CITY Feb. 7 (Ms. Anne Hazel Fajardo-Flores, PIA-ROI) — With the aim to identify deterring and facilitating factors in the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) 2017-2022 implementation, the Regional Nutrition Committee (RNC-1) gathered nutrition stakeholders in a Regional Program Implementation Review (RPIR) on Jan. 29-30, 2019, here.

Addressing the participants of the two-day event, National Nutrition Council (NNC-1) nutrition program coordinator Ma. Eileen B. Blanco said, “With your support and expertise on this field, we will assess the current nutrition situation, report on our targets vis-a-vis the accomplishments, as well as recalibrate some of the indicators to better implement our programs.”

According to the 2018 Operation Timbang (weight) Plus program for Pre-School Children results presented, under the combined underweight or low weight-for-age and severely underweight, the province of Ilocos Norte had the highest prevalence with 4.48 percent, followed by La Union at 3.41 percent. Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan recorded a prevalence rate of 2.92 percent and 1.82 percent, respectively.

Under the combined stunted and severely stuntied or low height-for-age prevalence, the province of Ilocos Norte had 9.91 percent followed by Ilocos Sur at 9.68 percent, La Union at 7.07 percent, and Pangasinan at 3.35 percent.

Further, the data on combined wasted and severely wasted or low weight-for-height shows that the province of Ilocos Norte has the highest prevalence rate on wasting at 2.73 percent followed by Ilocos Sur at 2.49 percent. The provinces of La Union and Pangasinan is at 2.28 percent and 1.81 percent, accordingly.

Combined overweight or weight-above-normal and obese is also seen to have the highest prevalence in the province of Ilocos Sur at 4.07 percent followed by Ilocos Norte at 3.92 percent, La Union at 2.35 percent, and Pangasinan at 2.12 percent.

As a recommendation of the committee, local government units (LGUs) are encouraged to include nutrition information in the conduct of various activities such as caravans, fora, assemblies, meetings, and other activities which will include existing laws and resolutions in implementing the program.

Another suggestion is to promote breastfeeding for babies starting 0 until 24 months old and beyond and the establishment of breastfeeding rooms on accessible locations for lactating mothers.

At present, Batac City, Ilocos Norte and Candon City, Ilocos Sur have breastfeeding rooms in the region according to the reports generated.

Moreover, incentives and honorariums for Barangay Nutrition Scholar (BNS) workers must be recalibrated and reconsidered at a remuneration tantamount to the services being provided.

It was also learned that there are still municipalities in the region with no BNS, therefore, the committee agreed to look into the implications and effects to the nutritional status of the LGUs and elevate the results to the Regional Development Council (RDC) for new policy suggestions.

On data gathering, clear roles and responsibilities of NNC on consolidation and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on the assistance through circulars with legal basis were proposed to be furnished to LGUs.

There were other accomplishments and proposals submitted by the LGUs which attended the review, but these will be consolidated by NNC for inclusion and consideration to the re-entry plan implementation.

“This review is one way of checking if our government programs on nutrition are on-track, we are encouraging all the nutrition action officers (NAOs) of the region to continue the best practices in their respective communities for a healthy citizenry,” Blanco said.

The activity was conducted in preparation for the launching of the Regional Plan of Action for Nutrition (RPAN) 2019-2022 that will be held in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur on March 13.

The RPIR gathered around 30 district NAOs, nutrition program coordinators, and members of the RNC-1 coming from the city, municipal and provincial LGUs and regional line agencies (RLAs).