by Nova Mae Francas
THE NATIONAL Nutrition Council (NNC) XI called on local government units (LGUs) to strengthen their committees and mobilize local nutrition action plans to address related problems.
Retsebeth M. Laquihon, regional nutrition program coordinator and NNC XI OIC, said nutrition governance should start at the grassroots and local level.
The DOST FNRI 2025 Updating Survey Dissemination of the Nutritional Status of Filipino Children and Other Population Groups presented on Oct. 14 at Seda Abreeza, showed that malnutrition persists mostly among vulnerable groups: pregnant and lactating women, infants, children and schoolchildren.
Laquihon said the committees bring together sectors mandated to support nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programs, and draft the local nutrition action plan.
The plan sets targets and interventions based on a locality’s own nutrition situation.
She added that LGUs should include the plan in their Annual Investment Program to allocate resources.
“If it’s only a plan with no budget, the plan cannot be implemented,” Laquihon said.
The official cited limited budget is the main obstacle for LGUs, along with other factors including a shift in priorities across administrations.
The shortage of nutrition action officers who can focus on malnutrition and coordinate with other sectors is also seen as a problem.
She added that natural and man-made calamities can pull local priorities and funds elsewhere.
“But through proper planning, they could be able to identify unsa tong cost-efficient and cost-effective na mga interventions na even limited ang resources, pero high impact ang result upon implementation,” the official said.
NNC helps LGUs in capacitate nutrition committees and workers to plan and manage programs, policies, and guidance for strengthening committees.
But the priority goes to vulnerable LGUs, especially those that are nutritionally at risk, have no nutrition committee, or have not yet moved their programs forward.
She cited the province of Davao Occidental, which is a newly created province, and many of its barangays are also classified as geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA).
Nutritional data released from DOST-FNRI assessment reveal encouraging improvements in stunting and wasting among children in the Davao Region, but concerns persist over rising overweight and obesity rates across older age groups.
The overall regional malnutrition rates decreased slightly from 15.20% last year to 14.84%, and overnutrition rates climbed from 5.89% to 6.13%.
Overnutrition increased mostly in city divisions, including Davao City and Panabo City, where both undernutrition and overnutrition went up, but Davao Occidental recorded the highest undernutrition rate.
The official reported that NNC XI will push for a resolution urging the national government to fund a provincial-level National Nutrition Survey (NNS) in 2028, so local governments can track their own nutrition progress.
Current NNS data is presented only at the regional level, and the proposal would produce aggregated provincial data, to which the FNRI has indicated the expansion “will entail a large amount of budget.”
“If you are from the province and you want to track the progress of nutrition in your province, you cannot associate it with the regional data presentation,” she said.
The FNRI conducts the NNS every five years, with updating surveys in between. It will conduct a full NNS in 2028, which will cover more indicators.