KASIBU Nueva Vizcaya—This upland town has found a way to generate funds for nutrition program purposes.
The monthly regular “weigh in” among its villagers to attain their appropriate nutritional weight per age has brought in at least P7,000 to the Municipal Nutrition Council.
The system requires a P5 fee for normal weight plus an additional P1 for every kilogram of excess weight among residents.
This is part of the MNC’s awareness campaign to reduce malnutrition cases in the municipality, supported by the Sangguniang Bayan members.
The practice has been hailed by the team of National Nutrition Council evaluators, who recently visited the province in its bid to earn and sustain the Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition Program Implementation.
“This is just one of the many interventions that we believe are beneficial for the implementation of the nutrition program in Nueva Vizcaya because of its fund generation for nutrition program activities,” said Ellen Ruth Abella, team leader of the National Nutrition Evaluation 2017.
She also praised other positive initiatives in the province such as purchase of balance beams, presence of alternative health care, the search for “Idol kong Pamilya, Entrepreneur, Tabulilit,” a no-smoking ordinance, barangay initiative to augment resources, and a sufficient supply of mother and child books.
Other initiatives include the MNC’s focused intervention to families with severely malnourished children, strong linkages with various active organizations and strong support of municipal and barangay legislative bodies through passage of nutrition-related resolutions, ordinances and executive or administrative orders, among others.