MAASIN NUTRITION PROGRAM

Our quest for national nutrition supremacy started when I was still still Vice Mayor and Damian Mercado was the City Mayor.  We won our first Green Banner Award for the year 2004 when we topped the city category in the whole Eastern Visayas Region beating Tacloban and Ormoc.

Before the winning of the Green banner, our malnutrition rate was high at about 20%.  When we started implementing our nutrition programs, malnutrition was 10.33% among pre-schoolers which was the lowest among cities in Region 8.  We won the Green Banner for three consecutive years in 2004, 2005 and 2006 garnering the Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition (CROWN) award in the process.

The CROWN award was conferred by the National Nutrition Council (NNC) to a town, city or province that has been adjudged by the inter-agency regional nutrition evaluation team as outstanding in the region in the implementation of its nutrition action plan for three consecutive years.

When I became City Mayor in 2007 we continued winning our CROWN garnering our first maintenance award from no less than President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at the Manila Hotel. Our malnutrition rate was 7.56% among pre-schooler children that time.

Then in the assessment for the 2008 accomplishments we faltered as we failed to get the passing mark during the national evaluation.  It was the time when the abaca industry in Maasin was greatly affected by diseases like bungy top and alcoheres.  There was also a long drought which affected our farmers.  Our malnutrition slightly increased to 7.57% among pre-schooloers.  Besides the barangays which were evaluated proved to be insufficient in their programs.

We were back to square one and competed again at the regional level garnering the Green Banner Award in the city category in 2009, 2010 and 2011.  We emerged again as CROWN awardees and we returned to the national nutrition awarding ceremony.  Malnutrition rate went down to 5.03% among pre-school kids in 2011.

I wanted to lower our malnutrition rate to a rate of 2%. The City Government needs the support of all stakeholders, considering we have a population of 86,000. We invested considerable amount for our nutrition programs. We worked hard not only for the awards, but for the future of our children and the city.

The villages with zero malnutrition are Canturing, Abgao and Cansirong. The city worked on perfecting the management of its nutrition program and ensuring further reduction of its malnutrition incidence from the prevailing 5.03 percent.

Also given focus was the formulation of a Barangay Nutrition Action Plan (BNAP) and strengthening of the Barangay Nutrition Committee (BNC), or its reactivation if non-functional or its organization if still nonexistent.

The functionality of the BNC is vital as it is responsible for formulating, managing, monitoring and evaluating the barangay nutrition action plan, generate and/or mobilize resources for the implementation of the projects under the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN); coordinate and integrate nutrition-related projects and activities of government and NGOs; and organize and mobilize the community to participate in nutrition projects.

At the grassroots level, a very helpful and practical function of the BNC is in the promotion of home, school, and community food production. Among the many things it could do would be distribution of seeds and seedlings, planting materials, fingerlings, goat, chicken, duck, etc. and in the establishment of demo- centers and nurseries.

At least 54 children, 0-71 months old are identified as recipients of the “adopt-a-child” program initiated by the city government of Maasin.

The target beneficiaries for the said program are severely underweight children and those previously severe but had minimal growth in weight kids.

In a launching activity of the said program at the city gymnasium, in my opening message I urged everyone including non-government organizations, private sector and the general public to help the city officials reach the goal towards zero malnutrition.

“The recipients can be increased depending on the sponsor,”  I was referring to children not only 0-71 months old, but including all children below 18 years of age that needs to improve their nutritional status.

We are targeting the vision, "Good Nutrition – A way of life of the people of Maasin City."

I adopted 3 malnourished kids, while the city vice-mayor and the Sangguniang Panlungsod members pledged to adopt one each, the different city offices at one each office, and some identified NGOs and private individuals also vowed to participate.

There were 150 supplemental feeding days which started December 2, 2014.  Each office or agency contributed P30.00 a day per adopted child, excluding Saturdays and Sundays to rehabilitate the identified malnourished children. Supplemental feeding was only once a day.

During the launching event, Cong. Damian G. Mercado, who was the guest, actively supported  the said program, and was grateful for the gift of life and sparing the Southern Leyteños from typhoon Yolanda.

“A good dream for the welfare of the children start in the community,” he disclosed during his inspirational talk, adding that child development start during pregnancy, so pregnant mothers should begin to nourish their self to have a well-nourished new-born.

The activity showcased some identified recipients that are living along the city proper. They were fed after the launching and were given pair of slippers sponsored by Cong. Mercado along with his family and a "get-to-know" between the adopted child and their sponsor

During the national evaluation, Health Assistant Secretary Bernardita Flores lauded Maasin City as it continues to aim for a healthy and well-nourished citizenry for almost 12 years already.

Flores is also the executive director of the National Nutrition Council (NNC) and recently led the national team of evaluators who visited the city, as it vies for the National Honor Award (NHA), the highest award conferred to a local government unit.

The evaluators selected five villages for validation of their nutrition programs. There were three villages in the upland namely Pinaskohan, Laboon and Malapoc Norte while two urban villages were in Canturing and Ibarra.

Flores said that to get the National Honor Award, one has to get 98 per cent rating on overall nutrition program. The evaluators will also give 5 per cent bonus rating.

She said that the unity and the cooperation between the city, province and in the representative of the lower house chamber proves beneficial to Maasin City, because it gets all the support it needed in all its programs for a healthy citizenry.

She added that the support Maasin got from provincial Governor Roger Mercado and Representative Mercado is a big boost to the journey of Maasin towards excellence in implementing its nutrition program.

The journey towards the Nutrition Honor Award (NHA)is not a bed of roses, but my contention was that win or lose, the nutrition programs for the citizenry of Maasin City will continue.

For me, the award is just a bonus for our efforts, but our service to our constituents continues.

In 2004-2005 Maasin got its first Green Banner Awards. It was awarded during the incumbency of former mayor Mercado, under his MIAN (Management Inputs for Agricultural Networking) Project.

In 2006, it won its first CROWN Award (or Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner Nutrition Award). In 2007, it bagged the first CROWN Maintenance Award.

“In 2008, our best was not enough,” I said referring to the second CROWN maintenance award which the city did not covet that time.

In 2011 Maasin got the CROWN Award and in the year 2012 and 2013 they got the two consecutive years CROWN maintenance awards. It is the criteria for the selection who will vie for the highest nutrition award in the country.

Part of the national evaluation team were Ellen Ruth Abella, Serapio "Rap-Rap" Camarines, Joy Hermogenes. The three were from NNC and Jovita A. Kotuni of the Department of Agriculture.

“Our goal is to have a healthy and nourished citizenry not only in Maasin City but throughout Southern Leyte,”  Cong. Damian G. Mercado disclosed in his opening message during the welcome program for the national nutrition evaluators held April 29, 2014 at the Maasin City College .

 The Southern Leyte solon recalled how Maasin City attained the nutrition awards. “This is the prize of our efforts which started when I was still the local chief executive of Maasin,” he said referring to the numerous awards since he was still the mayor of Maasin, a municipality then, then became city mayor and was continuously supported by me.

The awards for Maasin for effective nutrition program implementation were mentioned such as  the Green Banner Awards;  Outstanding Municipality in the Region; Red Orchid Awards for three consecutive years which gained Maasin City the Hall of Fame for successfully implementing the anti-smoking campaign; Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition (CROWN), to name a few.

This year Maasin City will vie for the National Nutrition Honor Award, the highest nutrition award throughout the country for being consistently winning the CROWN Maintenance Award for two years from 2012-2013.

“Giving good services to the people is our top priority,” Cong. Mercado, formerly the mayor of Maasin and Governor of Southern Leyte disclosed adding that “our burning desire and unending commitment towards nutrition improvement for all Maasinhons is a continuing journey.”

He was grateful to me for continuously implementing the best nutrition practices, not to mention all other innovative programs concerning health and nutrition that were introduced by Samaco.

Other than Maasin City, LGUs vying for NHA are the Municipality of Lal-Lo, Cagayan in Region II and Ifugao Province in the Cordillera Administrative Region. These LGUs have shown efficient and effective management of its nutrition program for the past 5 years which resulted to low prevalence of underweight among its preschool and school-aged children, it was learned. 

The national evaluators for the Nutrition Honor Award  was led by Assistant Secretary for Health Maria-Bernardita T. Flores. They selected 5 barangays to be validated such as Pinascohan, Laboon, Malapoc Norte, Canturing and Ibarra. The evaluation started today, April 30 and will end May 2, 2014. 

At least five barangays were randomly chosen by the national evaluating team for the Nutrition Honor Award (NHA) led by Assistant Secretary for Health and National Nutrition Council(NNC) Executive Director Maria-Bernardita T. Flores.

We welcomed the national validating team which arrived April 29, 2014 in a short program held at Maasin City College together with the members of the City Nutrition Committee headed by Nutrition Action Officer Dr. Francilisa I. Tan, Sangguniang Panglungsod members, among other concerned local officials and employees.  The evaluation lasted until May 2, 2014.

The five barangays chosen by the validating team were Pinascohan, Laboon, Malapoc Norte, Canturing and Ibarra. The team will also visit mangrove areas, school’s hand washing facility, Maasin City nursery, to name a few.

During the presentation of Maasin City’s nutrition situation, I focused on the impact programs implemented by the city such as food production, food fortification, livelihood assistance, micronutrient supplementation, nutrition information, communication and education, promoting healthy lifestyle, nutrition in emergencies, adopt a malnourished child program, among others and it’s road to the national Nutrition Honor Award, as its target and goal for Maasin City.

“Nutrition has always been included in my priority programs,” I said showing the Maasin City’s 13-point agenda, “MALONEY SAMACO,” as Market and business improvement; Agricultural production; Livelihood assistance; Orderliness and peace; Nutrition and health services; Education for the masses; Youth empowerment; Sports excellence; Anti-illegal drug campaign; Mangrove and forest protection; Advocacy for tourism; Concreting and maintenance of roads; and Over-all barangay development.

I explained that the city government allocated funds for nutrition program for at least P1 million for the past 3 years and more than P1.4-M last year.

I eagerly shared the leading intervening factors such as the home, school food production, adopt a malnourished child, that bounces up the nutritional status in Maasin City.

I discussed also “Gulayan sa Paaralan” and "Magulay ang Bahay" programs which are the most effective intervention that helps in the recovery of malnutrition in the city for years.

The program yields the nutritious food which are just planted within the premises of the household and in the schools thus readily provides food for the hungry children and even give the farmers a means for livelihood, as well, he said when asked by Assistant Secretary Ma-Bernardita Flores during the partial assessment. 

In the earlier years in its journey of winning staunches in nutrition programs implementation, then Municipal Mayor Damian Mercado and presently the Lone Representative of the province, allocated some P3.7 M funds for the food production activities in the 70 barangays of the city.

Food production activities such hog raising, chicken dispersal, goat raising, planting of vegetables, it also includes the procurement of mobile vans that carries the agricultural output of the farmers down to the market, among others.

Last year, the City Nutrition Committee appropriated some P70,000.00 for the procurement of vegetable seeds distributed among the 70 barangays and to those identified nutritionally depressed barangays will be receive more, he said.

On top of this, is another innovative activity which is the adopt a severely malnourished child that is gaining support in the community.

Starting from my adoption of three severely malnourished children, each for all the members of the Sangguniang Panglungsod, heads of the department of the city government and city hall employees follow suit. Then it was simultaneously replicated with the adoptions by the different sectors in the city like the fraternities, civil society organizations, religious groups, national line agencies and even down at the barangay level.

The program was launched on November 29, 2014 with 95 underweight and severely underweight children as recipients. Each child was allocated P30 per meal per day budget good for 150 days.  The total amount involved was P437,500.00.  On February 14, 2014, we had a Love Day for these children where we had a feeding program and gift giving at the City Gym.

In the year 2013, our underweight children were 4.14% in the city as compared to 26.4% in Eastern Visayas and 20.7% in the entire Philippines.  Wasting or thinness is 1.8% in Maasin while it is 6.7% in Region 8 and 6.9% in the entire country.  Stunting or low height for age is 10.2% in the city while it is 41.1% in the region and 32.3% in the whole country.  Overweight children is only 0.71% as compared to 3.3% in the whole Philippines.

For school children, our rates were still way below the national and regional standards.  In the school year 2013-2014, we had 92.61% normal, 5.16% wasted, 0.65% severely wasted, 1.2% above normal, and 0.34% obese.  

The National Nutrition Council conferred the highest distinction in nutrition, the Nutrition Honor Award, to Maasin City together with the municipality of Lal-lo in Cagayan province in region 2, and the province of Ifugao in the Cordillera Administrative Region. According to the NNC, "Our LGUs have exemplified outstanding performance in nutrition program management as manifested by the continued reduction in the prevalence of undernutrition both among preschool and school children for six (6) consecutive years as validated by the inter-agency National Nutrition Evaluation Team." The City of Maasin and other nutrition champions each received a trophy and cash incentive of P1,000,000 during the 2014 National Nutrition Awarding Ceremony on October 21, 2014 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. Sixteen (16) other LGUs to be recognized during the awarding ceremony.