The first leg of the ‘shepherding’ visits of the National Nutrition Council-NCR and the Regional Nutrition Management Group (RNMG) in 2015 was held in Navotas City on 03 February 2015. The ‘Shepherding’ Project is a mentoring strategy of the Regional Nutrition Committee (RNC) of NCR aimed at providing technical assistance to selected local government units toward improved nutrition program management.

Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator Milagros Elisa V. Federizo and Nutrition Officer III Emerenciana L. Francia met with City Nutrition Action Officer (CNAO) and City Councilor Reynaldo Monroy of Navotas City together with City Nutrition Program Coordinators (CNPCs) Edna Cipriano, Rosemarie Santos and Renee dela Rosa. The NNC-NCR was warmly welcomed by Councilor Monroy in his office. He thanked NNC-NCR led by NPC Federizo for always supporting and guiding the city in their efforts in localizing the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) through efficient and effective nutrition program management. The meeting was very fruitful as they were able to discuss the results of the 2014 Operation Timbang (OPT) Plus and brainstorm on the city’s innovative nutrition projects in 2015.

The leadership and support of Mayor Tiangco as Chair of the City Nutrition Committee is a key to the improvement of nutrition program management of the city contributing to the decrease in the prevalence of undernutrition among children 0-6 years old. Since 2013, Mayor Tiangco has deepened his commitment to support the nutrition programs following the series of shepherding visits conducted by the NNC-NCR and members of the RNMG which is the technical arm of the Regional Nutrition Committee.

The NNC-NCR committed to assist the CNPCs of Navotas in preparing the concept paper of the innovative nutrition projects of the city focusing on the first 1,000 days of the child and dental nutrition. CNAO Monroy and the nutrition secretariat are optimistic that the projects will bring about continued nutrition improvement and contribute to the achievement of Mayor Tiangco’s vision of a zero-malnutrition Navotas City. (ELF/MEVF/NNC-NCR)