Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto called on city residents to help and support the local government to ensure the proper nutrition and health of the public under the new normal.
"Ang laban para itaguyod ang maayos na nutrisyon at kalusugan ng ating mga kapwa Pasigueño ay hindi laban ko lang, o laban ng pamahalaan lamang. Ito po ay laban nating lahat. Kaya naman ang suporta, pakikipagtulungan, pribado man o pampubliko, ay mahalaga (The fight to uphold proper nutrition and health of our fellow Pasigueños is not only mine or the government's. We are all in this fight. Your support and cooperation, whether privately or publicly, is of the utmost importance)," Sotto said in a message on Nutrition Month.
The 48th celebration of Nutrition Month carries the theme: "New Normal na Nutrisyon: Sama-Samang Gawan ng Solusyon."
In Pasig City, the local government's campaign against malnutrition continued amid the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Mas lalo pa nating binigyan ng prayoridad ang kalusugan at nutrisyon ng bawat Pasigueño sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay ng sapat na pondo at pagsisigurado na ang bawat opisina na responsible dito ay kumikilos at nagbibigay ng mga innovative service deliveries (We prioritized the health and nutrition of every Pasigueño by allocating enough funds and ensuring that all offices responsible for these are working and providing innovative service deliveries)," Sotto said.
The Pasig City Nutrition Committee implements nutrition missions, supplementary feeding programs, and advocacy forums in every barangay in the city.
Nutrition Month's focus is in providing medical and dental services to nutritionally-at-risk children.
The supplementary feeding program offers services to nutritionally-at-risk pregnant women to ensure the first 1,000 days of infants, in accordance with Republic Act (RA) 11148, the “Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Magnanay Act."
According to the National Nutrition Council, RA 11148 "scales up nutrition intervention programs, allocates resources to improve the nutritional status, and addresses the malnutrition of infants, young children, adolescent women, as well as pregnant and lactating women."
Sotto said the local government prioritizes the health of pregnant women by providing healthy food packs as an alternative to hot meals, promotes breastfeeding programs, and offers counseling sessions, especially to new mothers.
The food packs mostly contain rice, fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, sardines, fortified oil, and iodized salt, which the committee distributes to beneficiaries for eight to 12 weeks.
The health and nutrition of school children are also a primary concern of the local government. The "Malusog na Batang Pasigueño" (MBP) program was created, wherein kinder up to grade 12 public school students in the city receive healthy food packed with vitamins (vitamin A, iodine, iron).
Advocacy forums include film showing, lectures and distribution of informational and educational materials on childbirth, and food demonstrations.
The food demonstrations on complementary feeding guides mothers to determine the quantity, kind, texture, and frequency of food that they may feed their children aged six months to two years old.
The committee also launched the "Aging Healthy in the New Normal" program that provides nutritional food packs and delivers medical services to senior citizens such as blood pressure, cholesterol and uric acid screening.
The committee also conducted community pantries and training sessions for trainers and beneficiaries on urban vegetable gardening.