NNC awards nutrition champs in Region 3

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — National Nutrition Council (NNC) cited outstanding nutrition committees and workers in Central Luzon through its 2021 Gawad Parangal sa Nutrisyon at Panapos na Pagdiriwang para sa Buwan ng Nutrisyon.

In her welcome message delivered by Regional Technical Working Group Chair Margarita Natividad, Regional Nutrition Committee Chair and Department of Health Regional Director Corazon Flores urged the awardees to really push through the implementation of nutrition programs in order to produce a healthy and bright generation in the future.

She also cited the report of World Health Organization which states that nutrition is critical part of health and development as better nutrition is related to improved infant, child, and maternal health; stronger immune system; safer pregnancy and childbirth; lower risk of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and other cardiovascular diseases; and longevity.

“People with adequate nutrition are more productive and can create opportunities that will gradually break the cycles of poverty and hunger. As such, as guided by our goals from the Sustainable Development Goals, this cannot overly emphasize the goals of nutrition in health and development,” Flores said.

She also challenged the awardees to envision a future that is more nutrition-responsive, more adaptable, pandemic-resilient, and inclusive through implementing programs where more than numbers, clients are the center of service delivery.

For her part, Assistant Secretary and NNC Executive Director Azucena Dayanghirang lauded the awardees for their great contribution to the sustained implementation of their respective nutrition programs

“I challenge the region to beef up more its efforts in nutrition program implementation especially in these trying times…We want more high performing local government units (LGUs). Rest assured that NNC will continue to provide direction and technical assistance to further contribute to reducing hunger and malnutrition. I also hope that local government units will integrate nutrition in their annual investment plans,” she said.

Awardees include Mabalacat City in Pampanga and Talavera in Nueva Ecija which bagged the 2nd year Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition (CROWN) Maintenance Award.

Six LGUs were also conferred with the Quality Nutrition Program Award including Guiguinto, Baliwag, Marilao, and Malolos City in Bulacan; and Quezon and San Jose City in Nueva Ecija.

In addition, nine out of 3,225 Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS) across the region were cited as Provincial/City Outstanding BNSs.

Meanwhile, special awards were likewise given to LGUs who are active on social media and who authored ordinances related to nutrition; while the graduates of the Nutrition School-on-the Air First 1,000 Days and Beyond were also cited.