In the new normal of doing things, even the campaign for proper nutrition needs new strategies.
This is the direction of the Health Promotion Bureau of the Department of Health in coming up with the playbook, called “Karendirya Para sa Healthy Pilipinas” project that chose Benguet as one of its priority areas for its implementation.
The project is one of the programs developed by DOH Health Promotion Bureau to help local government units improve the nutrition status of their constituents.
Norma Thea Madeline Conjares, a nutritionist-dietitian from the HPB, said they provided the playbook to help LGUs address the nutrition concerns of their constituents.
Through the project, the LGU contracts out local eateries to provide healthy and nutritious food or dietary supplementation for children under five years old, including pregnant and lactating mothers.
Conjares said as implementer of the program, the LGUs identify the beneficiaries based on the results of the Operation Timbang conducted by the barangay nutrition scholars.
The budget for the program depends on the number of children that need dietary supplementation based on the nutrition status.
In Benguet, National Nutrition Council-Cordillera OIC Coordinator Bella Basalong said there are 2,415 children under five years old who are stunted based on the results of the 2021 Operation Timbang.
Through the partnership with the LGUs, the Karendirya Para sa Healthy Pilipinas project is seen to encourage eateries become nutrition champions at the community level.
In this year’s observance of Nutrition Month, the NNC is calling on various sectors of society to become partners of the government in addressing nutrition concerns, aside from emphasizing the importance of proper nutrition amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. – Jane B. Cadalig
