Extra nutrition effort, service

Iglesia shared her hardship which served as her fuel to improve the quality of nutrition and health in their community.

The pandemic was the most challenging, Iglesia said since mass gathering was prohibited. She took the initiative to personally visit every barangay in Ligao city to deliver nutritional services.

‘’The capacity development of the city nutrition committee, barangay nutrition committees as well as the 56 barangays with Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS) has been instrumental in building a strong network of nutrition advocates at the grassroots level,’’ Iglesia said.

She also witnessed the dedication and perseverance of nutrition personnels in the barangays who untiringly fulfilled their role as  nutrition champions.

‘’Sa totoo may mga barangay nutrition scholar na 10, 15 years na sa serbisyo pag tinanong mo kung bakit nandyan pa sila ang isasagot sa iyo, mahal ko ang pagiging BNS  ko,’’ Iglesia said.

Political constraints were also part of the challenge as a CNPC, Iglesia noted.

‘’Ito ang pinaka-mahirap sa ating part, lobbying of the nutritional program to the local chief executive has been a critical aspect of our work dahil papalit-palit ang local executives,’’ said Iglesia.

According to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Philippines, 95 children in the country die from malnutrition everyday;  27 out of 1,000 Filipino children do not get past their fifth birthday, and a third of filipino children is stunted for their age, which can be permanent after 2 years.

Strategies

Further, Dr. Gillego, as the OIC in the city health office in Legazpi, took pride in his strategy to increase BNS monthly honorarium and other benefits such as free regular dental check up and provision of laboratory test equipment including their families through lobbying.

‘’The key areas that need improvement to lower down the malnutrition rate, which I sought to institutionalize, is the quarterly training for the improvement of knowledge and skills of BNS in their assessment of the nutritional status of children in Legazpi city,’’ Gillego said.

He noted that operation timbang, community based deworming, micronutrient supplementation, and constant feeding programs are essential to sustain the nutrition of children and fight all forms of malnutrition such as stunting, wasting, underweight and obesity.

‘’Effective documentation and report writing has been essential in capturing the progress and challenges we faced in history. [These] empower us to refine our strategies to create  greater impact,’’ Iglesia cited.