LGUs urged to create ‘women-centered’ nutrition programs
THE National Nutrition Council Region (NNC) 7 urged local government units to create women-centered nutrition programs, activities, or projects (PAPs) to empower women and advocate proper nutrition to them during the pandemic.
This was raised during the second live stream episode of NNC 7’s Educational Health and Nutrition Information Sharing Geared Towards Development (e-Hisgot), which focused on women and nutrition, on Wednesday, March 17, 2021.
Dr. Parolita A. Mission, NNC 7 regional nutrition program coordinator, suggested the following nutrition PAPs that the local government units (LGUs) can organize and maintain:
• Home or barangay gardening
• Nutrition and sex education
• Supplementary feeding for pregnant women
• Breastfeeding support groups
• Monthly cooking demonstration
• Income-generating or livelihood programs
• Capacity building for adolescent girls
• Healthy lifestyle activities, such as Zumba or yoga
According to NNC 7, these are aligned with Republic Act 11148, or Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act, which aims to “provide comprehensive, sustainable, multisectoral strategies and approaches to address health and nutrition problems of newborns, infants and young children, pregnant and lactating women and adolescent females.”