FINDING ANSWERS

Because nutrition offices are still largely non-existent throughout the country, it’s no surprise why the crisis of chronic malnutrition has plagued the Philippines for decades.
 

At a recent Kapihan sa Manila Hotel forum, National Nutrition Council (NNC) executive director Dr. Azucena Milana-Dayanghirang lamented that prioritizing nutrition, despite being a devolved function, has yet a long way to go at the local level.

Only around 20 percent of local government units can be deemed “champions” of nutrition, she told the Kapihan forum which dwelt on malnutrition during the crucial first 1,000 days of a child’s life from conception to the age of two.

Dr. Dayanghirang’s assessment is still no different from a 2021 NNC report which said that “only 19 percent component cities/municipalities LGUs (C/MLGUs) are with nutrition offices; only eight percent have full time nutrition action officers and four percent with support staff for nutrition.”

The same report added “there are only 48 percent of provinces and cities [that] have nutrition offices and only 24 percent have full time Nutrition Action Officers (NAOs) and 35 percent have full time nutrition program coordinators.”

“The creation of a nutrition office with adequate staff is key to improved nutrition performance as it will ensure that there are personnel who will enable the LGUs to implement (nutrition) laws,” the NNC report explained. “It will make sure that various nutrition specific and nutrition-related/sensitive programs are planned and carried out in an integrated manner with the participation of all sectors contributing to reduced malnutrition.”

To help LGUs, the Children’s First One Thousand Days Coalition (CFDC) – comprised of civic and non-government organizations – is on a mission to combat, in tandem with national and local governments, malnutrition during the crucial period of the first 1,000 days when the impact of poor nutrition can be long-lasting and even irreversible.

The CFDC, in which I serve as national project chair, uses an operations manual illustrating how NGOs and barangay governments can combine efforts to optimize the health of both mother and child, with precise interventions throughout pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and post-pregnancy stages.

The need for comprehensive dietary guidance during pregnancy, promoting a balanced diet rich in essential nutrients, and providing trimester-specific nutrition are stressed in the manual, as well as the importance of monitoring and evaluation – with focus on breastfeeding support and optimal nutrition among poor pregnant and lactating mothers.

The CFDC operations manual also guides NGOs on how to adopt a barangay in areas where malnutrition is rampant, based on the NNC list. It promotes NGOs’ collaboration with Department of Health-accredited health centers, Barangay Health Workers, and Barangay Nutrition Scholars for regular health care checkups, immunizations, monitoring, among others.

The CFDC, now with its membership of more than 50 national and local NGOs intensifying their nutrition efforts, has been joined recently by the Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc. (CCBI), the accredited integrated profession organization of customs brokers in the country.

Dr. Anthony A, Cristobal, CCBI president, said the group “is cognizant of the crisis of malnutrition in the country and will undertake nutrition programs, including campaigns to raise people’s awareness on the critical importance of nutrition during the child’s first one thousand days of life.”

Another civic organization, the Fraternal Order of Eagles – Philippine Eagles led by its national president Ronald delos Santos, has also signed up with the CFDC to adopt barangays for their nutrition program.

The agreement also aims to “encourage its members who are executives of business organizations to educate their employees on the first one thousand days nutrition program and extend assistance, technical or otherwise, to rank and file employees towards raising healthy and properly nourished children.”

Other CFDC members include Rotary International, Lions Club International, Kiwanis International, Junior Chamber International, The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines, Knights of Columbus, Knights of Rizal, Save the Children Philippines, World Vision Philippines, Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals, Philippine League of Government and Private Midwives, Crusade Against Violence, and many more.

Getting good nutrition in the womb and throughout early life is of utmost importance for a child, as shown by many studies on brain development and testimonies of various experts, from neuro scientists to child care specialists worldwide.

Brain development starts long before birth, and progresses at astonishing speed very early on during pregnancy. All throughout brain development in the womb, a mother’s diet and her stored nutrients are the child’s only source of nutrition.

Malnutrition in the first 1,000 days is associated with poor school performance. And when our students perform poorly, our country’s future can be bleak.

“The persistence of very high levels of childhood undernutrition, despite decades of economic growth and poverty reduction, could lead to a staggering loss of the country’s human and economic potential,” the World Bank said.

The enormity of the malnutrition crisis – which UNICEF Philippines said is the underlying cause of 95 child deaths daily in the country – calls for more LGUs to become nutrition champions. ([email protected])