SAN FERNANDO CITY, July 22 (Ms. Anne Hazel Flores,PIA-1) – The National Nutrition Council (NNC) in Ilocos leads the campaign on the Early Childhood Care and Development for the First 1000 Days of life (ECCD-F1K) to address child malnutrition.
The campaign is part of the 47th Nutrition Month (NM) celebration this July with the theme: "Malnutrisyon patuloy na labanan, First 1000 days tutukan!" which aims to raise awareness on the nutrition issue and encourage stakeholders to participate and engage in activities to improve nutrition.
“Our goal is for the Filipinos to understand the importance of the first 1000 days of life because it is the foundation to better our nutrition,’” said NNC-1 Officer-in-Charge Nutrition Program Coordinator Kendall Pilgrim Gatan.
According to Gatan, the NM technical committee reported that only 11 percent of respondents were aware of the first 1000 days strategy which is based on the NNC-commissioned recall survey conducted in January 2021.
“We are calling for continued action to address malnutrition especially during this time of pandemic, and we will be guided by the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition 2017-2022 as our framework,” he added.
He said that these efforts can also be strengthened through the conduct of programs which are aligned to Republic Act 11148 or the Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act.
Among the activities lined-up for the celebration included the online launching which was held on July 2.
Resource speakers from the Department of Health and Commission on Population talked about the available services for pregnant, lactating and young children in Rural Health Units, and responsible parenthood, respectively during the event.
It was attended by representatives from the regional line agencies, local government units, nutrition action officers (NAOs), women of reproductive age, and pregnant and lactating women.
Further, one of the highlights of the celebration is a forum for barangay officials and nutrition scholars programmed on July 29 to drumbeat the campaign at the grassroots level.
In addition, various contests such as nutri-jingle video making for families and students, digital poster making for aspiring digital artists are included as part of the observance.
Also, information and education campaigns like online press conferences involving the media partners, and webinars, conferences and a weekly talk show dubbed as “Let’s Talk NAO!” are being held in partnership with the regional nutrition action officers.
“Our activities will also spill over in August because creating awareness on better ways to have good nutrition will always be our primary concern,” Gatan concluded.
NM is an annual campaign held every July to create greater awareness among Filipinos on the importance of nutrition as provided under Presidential Decree 491, or the Nutrition Act of the Philippines.
