THE National Nutrition Council (NNC) Central Luzon on Friday, November 22, cited the Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition (Crown) awardees.

Mabalacat City in Pampanga and Talavera in Nueva Ecija were recognized for bagging the 1st year Crown Maintenance Award during the 2019 Regional Nutrition Awarding Ceremony held in the City of San Fernando.

During the awarding ceremony, Department of Health (DOH) assistant regional director Juliana Reyes congratulated the two local government units (LGUs) for their impressive accomplishments.

“Both LGUs, under the able leadership of their respective local chief executives, have impressive accomplishment as demonstrated by their people-centered approach in uplifting the quality of life of their constituents from education, employment programs, agricultural support, health services, and addressing malnutrition,” Reyes said.

The official added the two LGUs have put premium on food production and enriching lives through genuine mother-baby-friendly services which have contributed to continued improvement of the nutrition situation in their localities.

For her part, NNC regional nutrition program coordinator Ana Maria Rosaldo said she hopes the recognition will serve as an inspiration to other LGUs in their efforts to scale up nutrition in their respective areas.

“With your exemplary performance, we hope that LGUs and Barangay Nutrition Scholars will be inspired to follow your examples, adopt and replicate good practices, and create a ripple effect that would contribute to the attainment of the goal of the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition, Philippine Development Plan, Sustainable Development Goals, and in the long run, the Ambisyon Natin 2040,” Rosaldo said.

The Crown award is given to LGUs that excelled in nutrition program management in their respective regions for three consecutive years.

Earlier this year, the two LGUs were awarded during the 2019 National Nutrition Awarding Ceremony held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. (PIA-Central Luzon)