24 March 2022, Cagayan de Oro City – After two years of conducting virtual activities with the local nutrition focal points, the National Nutrition Council (NNC) Region X convened on 18 March 2022 the officers of the Nutrition Action Officers Association of the Philippines (NAOPA), Inc. Northern Mindanao Chapter, National Barangay Nutrition Scholars (NaBNS) Federation, Inc. Northern Mindanao Chapter, and the District and City Nutrition Program Coordinators (D/CNPCs) in Region X. The joint meeting was held at Apple Tree Resort and Hotel, Opol, Misamis Oriental.

Nutrition Program Coordinator (NPC) Gladys Mae S. Fernandez and her staff facilitated the meeting of which the morning session was dedicated for the plenary updates, while afternoon session was for the breakout meetings per association.

In her opening message, NPC Fernandez thanked the nutrition workers for their attendance to the event and gave initial updates on nutrition program developments.

Nutrition Officer (NO) III Sheena Marie G. Talle presented the results of the 2021 Policy Review of Regional Development Council (RDC) X Resolution No. 37, s.2016 “Supporting the Adoption of the Prescribed Weight and Height Measurement Tools in the Conduct of the Annual Operation Timbang (OPT) Plus”. Her report included results of policy client feedback, implementation of the policy at the local level, and review of the policy itself; all of which were based on the submissions and inputs from the local government units (LGU). Included in her discussion was the RDC X Resolution No. 7, s.2018 for review within the year, which is entitled “Supporting the Revival of the Garden of Go, Grow and Glow (G4) Initiative”. The G4 is an intervention unique to Region 10, and the NNC X is set to gather insights and updates from the LGUs in terms of G4 implementation and policy recommendations.

Ms. Arlie Joy O. Damiles, NO II shared the 2021 OPT Plus results, including the five-year trend at the regional, provincial and city levels, as well as the ranking of top municipalities with highest prevalence of malnutrition per indicator. The overall results show that Region 10 has decreasing malnutrition trends since 2019. This is because of the efforts done by the LGUs in implementing effective nutrition programs.

NO II Damiles proceeded with the presentation of the status of nutrition reports submission, including the inventory of measuring equipment, functionality checklist of nutrition committees, training updates on Child Growth Standards, 2022 OPT Plus, 2021 Program Implementation Review Documentation Report, and their latest Local Nutrition Action Plan. She called on the LGUs to submit their lacking documents so the regional office can consolidate and forward to NNC Central Office.

The eLearning Course on Local Nutrition Program Management (NPM) was discussed by capacity development (CapDev) staff in-charge, NO I Vazamija Therese A. Villasi. She discussed the important points and instructions for the upcoming three batches of online trainings. Lastly, she invited the nutrition workers to join the course, especially those who are newly appointed or those who were trained on NPM more than five years ago.

NPC Fernandez presented the activities of NNC X lined up for 2022, including workshops, monitoring and evaluation activities, 2022 Nutrition Month, trainings and CapDev activities, LGU mobilization, associations’ activities, and on Tutok Kainan Dietary Supplementation Program (TK DSP).

NNC X invited Ms. Edel Grace G. Seronay, Local Government Operations Officer (LGOO) IV of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) X to share the news that nutrition is now included in the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) indicators. Stunting prevalence and coverage of OPT Plus is part of the health indicators that the LGUs must prioritize on.

Engr. Junelyn Louvena B. Ruiz, Provincial Science and Technology Director of Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-Misamis Oriental shared updates on the complementary food technologies from the DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI). Such food products can be used by LGUs in their dietary supplementation initiatives in their respective areas. Engr. Ruiz also shared the list of Complementary Food Processing Facilities in the region where the LGUs can procure their feeding commodities.

To conclude the morning session, NO III Talle announced the conduct of the 2022 Regional Nutri-Webby Awards, updates on the Monitoring and Evaluation of Local Level Plan Implementation (MELLPI) Pro, and Nutrition Shepherding Initiative.

The NNC X commits to fulfill its function of coordinating with LGUs in terms of nutrition program updates and developments, and to push forward the welfare and the priority agenda of nutrition focal points. (NO III Sheena Marie G. Talle)