ILOILO City – This city has been awarded the prestigious Green Banner Seal in recognition of its outstanding efforts and achievements in promoting child nutrition and combating malnutrition.
The Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) 2023 Green Banner Seal of Compliance Award was given to the city through the City Health Office (CHO) by the National Nutrition Council, through its Regional Nutrition Committee during the recent awarding ceremony at Smallville 21 Hotel in Mandurriao district.
Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said this achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the city’s team from the CHO Nutrition Program, community partners and stakeholders, and the support of city residents.
“We are deeply honored to receive the award, which recognizes our relentless efforts to promote child nutrition and combat malnutrition in our city. I congratulate everyone especially our team from City Health Office for this. We are making great strides in ensuring that every child in our city has access to the nutrition they need to thrive and reach their full potential,” Treñas expressed.
Health and nutrition programs for young children here are among the top priorities under the WHEELS for Inclusive Development and RISE Iloilo City Roadmap of the Treñas administration.
The positive results of the city’s nutrition efforts have been evident. Malnutrition, such as stunting, wasting, and overweight or obesity among children aged zero to 59 months have steadily and significantly declined for the past four years.
The CHO-Nutrition Program data from 2021 to 2024 showed the following:
* Stunting – 3% (2021), 2.8% (2022), 2.6% (2023), 2% (2024)
* Wasting – 1.3% (2021), 1% (2022), 0.9% (2023), 0.6% (2024)
* Overweight/Obese – 2.9% (2021), 2.3% (2022), 1.8% (2023), 1.4% (2024)
According to CHO Nutritionist-Dietitian II Clarisse Montealto-Nieves, for the 2024 Operation Timbang Plus (OTP) conducted from January to March, they were able to cover 80 percent or 36,084 of the targeted 45,081 population of preschoolers.
Specifically, results showed that 92.8 percent of the age group are normal in terms of their nutritional status while 533 are underweight, 227 are wasted, 717 are stunted and 504 are overweight or obese.
“This means that the nutritional status of our preschoolers is continuously improving. Based on our OTP+ conducted this year, only one-eighth of the total preschool children we weighed were malnourished,” said Nieves.
She attributed this to the strengthened and relentless advocacy program and services of the city on nutrition.
From 181 in 2019, the number of Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS) in the city rose to 253 in 2024. BNS are volunteers who are in the frontline in providing nutrition services and other related activities to a barangay.
“Since we started the implementation of our nutrition program, our campaign and advocacy on nutrition have not stopped,” Nieves added.
She cited, among others, their continuous services especially in giving out micronutrient supplementation and vitamins and promoting and advocating breastfeeding as one of the important sources of nutrients for children.
She also acknowledged the strong support extended by Mayor Treñas to CHO and its nutrition program.
In fact, Nieves noted an increased budget for the city’s nutrition program.
Moreover, Iloilo City has a soon-to-be operational landmark project, the Uswag Iloilo City Nutrition Center, that will boost the city’s nutrition program.
The city has collaborated with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-Western Visayas and Bombo Radyo Philippines for the production of enhanced nutribun (e-nutribun) and rice-monggo sesame blend.
“We will make our own nutri-buns especially for at-risk pregnant women and rice-mongo blends for the kids,” Nieves said.
The facility will also provide outpatient therapeutic care for malnourished kids in the city to improve their nutritional status, as well as a venue for trainings and seminars for barangay nutrition scholars, among others./PN
