Event Geek

The whole nation will celebrate the 2012 Nutrition Month this July. With the theme “Pagkain ng gulay ugaliin, araw-araw itong ihain!”, the objectives of the 38thmonth-long observance are to: a. increase vegetable consumption as part of a healthy diet to address micronutrient deficiencies and non‐communicable diseases; b. promote vegetable gardening as a source of additional food and income; and c. increase demand for vegetables to help local vegetable farmers.

The National Nutrition Council 7 thru the Regional Nutrition Committee, the Cebu City Nutrition Council and the Media Information Network for Nutrition and Development 7 spearheads the regional celebration. Several activities have been lined up for the celebration this month. Please see attached. One of the kick-off activities is the “Vegetable Hour”- a simultaneous planting of vegetables region-wide in homes, communities, schools, day care centers, hospitals and prisons on 02 July 2012 at 8:00-9:00 a.m. This would be done in four (4) key areas including Mabolo Elementary School for the school setting, V. Sotto Memorial Medical Center for the hospital setting, Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City for the community and Operation Second Chance for prison.

The National Convention of Barangay Nutrition Scholars will be held in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to promote their ONE NUTRITION, ONE NATION ~ Nurturing the Filipino Campaign which is initiate by the Natural Nutrition Council with the Help of the Department of Health and Office of the President of the Philippines.

The date and venue per area are as follows: Grand Men Seng Hotel, Davao City - October 20-21, 2010; Cebu International Convention Centerm Cebu City - November 10-11, 2010; and Philippine Trade and Training Center, Pasay City - December 8-9, 2010.

The Accelerated Hunger-Mitigation Program of the Department of Health (DOH) aims to mitigate hunger among Filipinos. The AHMP includes the "Promote Good Nutrition" component which aims to improve the food and nutrition practices of Families. The PGN component is led and coordinated by the National Nutrition Council for implementation by local government units, schools, health facilities and communities.

At the local level, community-based volunteers called Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS) deliver basic nutrition services and assist in the delivery of health, social protection and other interventions to families.

Given the the big number of BNS who are expected to attend, the NNC organized three island-wide conventions in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The conventions are expected to update the Barangay Nutrition Scholar on hunger-mitigation efforts as well as the priority actions for nutrition improvement as contained in the Medium-Term Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition. The conventions will also provide the venue for BNS to organize themselves into an association or federation to have a unified and converted effort to address hunger and malnutrition.

About the Barangay Nutrition Scholars:

The BNS are community-based volunteer nutrition workers mandated by the nutrition council to deliver basic nutrition services and render assistance in the delivery of the health , social protection, and other interventions to families in the barangay level.