A side from posting a drastic decline in malnutrition prevalence rate to less than 1 percent, the city of Taguig had been given the prestigious Pabasa sa Nutrisyon Hall of Fame award for 2015 by the 61-year old-group Philippine Association of Nutrition (PAN).
Officials of the PAN said the Hall-of-Fame award duly recognizes government and non-governmental organizations that have already been cited previously with the Pabasa sa Nutrisyon Exemplary Award and have maintained an efficient implementation of the program for four consecutive years.
“We are again proud of this award. It is not every day that we do get to honor our people for the exemplary job that they do for their fellow Taguigeños,” Mayor Lani Cayetano said.
Cayetano added that the city of Taguig will continue to advocate good and proper nutrition for the benefit of their constituents. “This award is a testament that we have fulfilled our goal of fighting malnutrition, which affects mostly our mothers and young kids,” she stressed.
The Pabasa sa Nutrisyon program is an information-sharing type of activity that targets breastfeeding mothers, pregnant women and mothers of malnourished children to teach them the proper selection and preparation of food served to families that are both affordable and nutritious. This initiative controls and lessens cases of malnutrition down to the barangay level.
She said the success of the nutrition programs is also attributed to the active participation of the Barangay Nutrition Committee, which is in the forefront of its implementation to the people. Budget allocation for nutrition programs was also provided for barangays to successfully implement the program.
Cayetano said through the Pabasa sa Nutrisyon, people are empowered to reduce their family’s vulnerability to malnutrition through the adoption of proper nutrition practices and healthy lifestyles.
Malnutrition down to 1 percent
The National Nutrition Council-National Capital Region (NNC-NCR), during the 2014 Regional Nutrition Awarding Ceremony held last August 29, has awarded the Green Banner award to Taguig for recording only 0.88 percent for 2014 compared to 1.38 percent the previous year of malnutrition cases.
The Green Banner award is the highest honor conferred to a local government unit for its exemplary implementation and management of nutrition programs.
“The education that we impart to our constituents is to ensure that those benefiting from our nutrition program will continue to receive the proper nourishment,” she added.