29 October 2021, Cagayan de Oro City – The nutrition journey of Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon was highlighted during the Newly Elected Officials (NEO)-Webinar Executive Session (WES) hosted by the Local Government Academy and National Nutrition Council. This was held 28 October 2021 via Zoom and Facebook Live.

Assistant Secretary of Health and NNC’s Executive Director Dr. Azucena M. Dayanghirang served as the Resource Person on the topic “Creating an Enabling Environment for Nutrition Governance”. ASec. Dayanghirang gave the imperative on why local government units (LGUs) should invest in nutrition, including strategies to address the malnutrition problem. She also discussed about NNC’s proposal in strengthening the nutrition program through establishment of local nutrition offices.

Among the highlights of her presentation is Manolo Fortich’s success story on nutrition governance. Mayor and Municipal Nutrition Committee Chairperson Clive D. Quiño showcased their LGU’s key strategies. Mayor Quiño shared the history of how the foundations for the nutrition programs in the LGU were built, including the glaring nutrition program budget increase of 193% for 2019 to 2020, and 161% in 2020-2021.

Mayor Quiño assured that the LGU’s consistent investments resulted to decreasing trend in malnutrition since 2015. Mayor Quiño also expressed that he appreciated the monitoring and evaluation activities done to acknowledge good practices and act on areas for improvement. As such, Manolo Fortich was able to earn national-level awards for nutrition and at present, they are vying for the Nutrition Honor Award, the highest award given by NNC to an LGU.

He claimed that local chief executives must be the champions of the nutrition programs. Nutrition advocacies must be prioritized, inter-sectoral actions must be promoted, and stakeholders at the municipality and barangay levels must be mobilized. He also added that the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition serves as a “nutrition bible” for LGUs actions to align with national directives.

Mayor Quiño further shared that their next steps include investment in technology-based system of data management, establishment of Barangay Nutrition Posts with qualified Nutrition Officers, stronger partnership with the Municipal Nutrition Office and other LGUs offices, and intensified support to maternal health programs.

Additionally, he assured that Manolo Fortich LGU and stakeholders fully support the First 1000 Days (F1K) Program. He said that investing in the health of the present children, who will be the leaders in the years to come, is the best way to ensure a bright future.

“We believe that investing in F1K will increase the chance of the child of having a better quality of life. With this, we take all possible opportunities to progress towards ensuring better health and survival of mothers and babies in Manolo Fortich,” he added.

On the other hand, Municipal Nutrition Action Officer (MNAO) Christy Marie V. Alsado compared the previous and current Nutrition Office structure, of which significant improvement in staff complement was highlighted.

Current efforts of the LGU includes re-organization in response to the formulation of Devolution Transition Plans. The Municipal Nutrition Office led the formulation of a 5-year plan which includes the creation of a separate nutrition office with manpower, focus on nutrition-specific programs, and establishment of Barangay Nutrition Posts.

MNAO Alsado stressed that in support to the diversified and expanded nutrition programs, full-time NAOs will assure sufficient attention in service delivery. The NAO will also take the lead in coordinating the overall implementation and management of nutrition programs. Moreover, program necessities can be lobbied by the NAO for prioritization.

Aside from a full-time NAO, MNAO Alsado claimed that data management, and capacity building activities can be improved if the office is equipped with staff complement. She shared how this strategy has worked for LGU Manolo Fortich.

All these result to the consistent decline of malnutrition prevalence, as shared also by Mayor Quiño.

MNAO Alsado added that this strategy can be a lever for long-term growth through comprehensive response on the burden of malnutrition. Lastly, she said, “Investing in Nutrition Office and staff may after all be the key to what drives for the positive success of our nutrition outcomes. Just like the others, this may be the start of our success stories in nutrition.” (NO III Sheena Marie G. Talle)