The Caloocan City government was recognized for implementing the “Most Improved Nutrition Program Management” by the National Nutrition Council (NNC) of the Department of Health.
Mayor Oscar Malapitan said the award which was given in a simple ceremony at the Heritage Hotel in Pasay City was the fruit of the complete overhaul of the city’s nutrition programs.
Malapitan vowed “we will not stop here, we will continue to strive to be better in keeping up with our battlecry ‘Tao ang Una’ or people-first policy, and we will work harder to completely eliminate malnutrition in Caloocan.”
The Malapitan administration beefed up the nutrition council, inactive since 2013, by hiring competent nutritionist-dietitians.
In response to these nutrition challenges, Malapitan reorganized and revitalized the city nutrition committee (CNC) through an executive order “Reorganizing the CNC and Organizing the City Nutrition Cluster with its new members and designating his wife Edna Malapitan, as the City Nutrition Officer.”
A city nutrition program coordinator was given a seat in the local health board secretariat that paved the way for nutrition issues and concerns to be discussed and acted on by the board.
The CNPC’s active involvement in the Gender and Development Focal Point System, Local Council for the Protection of Children and Local Poverty Reduction Alleviation Program provided opportunities for integrating nutrition concerns in the programs and obtaining funding support.
The good working relationship among the CNC members, particularly the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Liga ng Barangay and the city council facilitated the passage of local ordinances and resolutions in the nutrition program.
The CNC also worked on the documentation of their nutrition programs, projects, and activities as an important aspect of good nutrition program management. This allowed the mayor, the CNAO and members of the CNC to keep track of the status of their nutrition program implementation, appreciate their accomplishments and identify ways to improve further their local nutrition programs to yield better results.