LAGAWE, Ifugao – The province was adjudged by the
health department and the National Nutrition Council as this year’s recipient
of the prestigious Nutrition Honor Ward (NHA) for its nutrition programs that
resulted to low malnutrition rate among pre-school children and school aged
children over the past six years.
Rita D. Papaey, NNC-CAR regional nutrition program
coordinator, said the |Nutrition Honor Award is similar to the Hall of Fame
Award being given by award-giving bodies to tap performing individuals and
groups who are involved in
implementation of programs and projects.
Papey disclosed Ifugao was able to maintain its Green Banner
Award under the category of the province for the first three years and the
Consistent Regional Winner on Nutrition (CROWN) under the category of the
province over the past three years which resulted to the province being
elevated to the Nutrition Honor Award.
“We are elated that a province in the Cordillera has been
elevated to one of the most prestigious awards being given by the national
government to top performing local governments which are able to sustain the
implementation of local nutrition interventions,” Papey said.
Aside from the Nutrition Honor Award trophy, Ifugao will
also receive cash reward of P1 million during awarding rites which will still
be scheduled by the NNC in Metro Manila by the third week of October.
Corazon Dawong, provincial nutrition program coordinator,
said that in 2008 or before the implementation of local nutrition
interventions, there were a total of 1,661 or 7.772% of underweight and
severely underweight pre-school children in the province but with
the implementation of the designed nutrition initiatives, the malnutrition rate
was lowered to 2.37% this 2014.
Dawong said under the locally-initiated supplemental
feeding, nutrition staff, parents and day care teachers usually cook nutritious
food, particularly those available in the communities, such as a mixture of
organic vegetables, and use the same to feed the children during their break in
order to help improve their nutritional status.
Gov. Dennis Habawel lauded the provincial health office and
the provincial nutrition staff for being able to formulate local interventions
that will compliment other nutrition programs of concerned government agencies
that contributed in significantly reducing the malnutrition rate among
pre-schoolchildren in the different parts of the province.
He said the provincial government will continue to extend
financial and technical assistance to the concerned agencies and offices in the
coming years in order to further reduce the malnutrition rate among
pre-schoolchildren and make them active members of the society in the future.
In the Cordillera, the regional nutrition award winners
include Benguet as the Green Banner Wardee for the provincial level, Baguio
City as the Green Banner awardee for the City category and Alfonso Lista, Ifugao
in the Municipal Category while Ms. Magdalena Sacpa of Kapangan, Benguet was
adjudged the Best Barangay Nutrition Scholar (BNS).
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