Carmen, Bohol vies for nutrition award
After winning its first Green Banner Award for Outstanding Municipality in Bohol province, in the field of nutrition, Carmen town in Bohol is vying again for the honor, conferred yearly by the National Nutrition Council-Region 7 (NNC-7), and the Cebu-based Media Information Network for Nutrition and Development-7 (MIND7).
Officials and members of NNC-7 and MIND-7 travelled to Carmen on Thursday to monitor and evaluate the local government's nutrition program and its impact to the people.
NNC-7 program coordinator Parolita Mission said regional nutrition evaluators went to Carmen, Bohol, as part of the agency's assessment of the LGU's performance in terms of effectiveness and efficiency of its nutrition program.
Mayor Ricardo Francisco Toribio of Carmen, in welcoming the nutrition personnel, said the "fight against malnutrition begins in the family."
Toribio - speaking to members of the NNC-7 and the MIND-7, barangay chairperson, and barangay nutrition scholars said Carmen's Municipal Nutrition Committee adapted the strategies of focusing on the individual needs of malnourished children and their families, making them active partners in the nutrition program.
Carmen's nutrition program includes monitoring of underweight children, maintaining home gardens and provisions of poultry and livestock, capacitating parents in proper child rearing, and providing socio-economic assistance.
The mayor said the town's nutrition program is packaged under Project RICARDO (Rehabilitation, Immediate Care and Appropriate Restoration of Health and Dedicated to All through Observation), and follow up initiatives.
Project RICARDO covers home, school, community food production; micro-nutrient supplementation; food assistance, nutrition information, education and communication; and water and sanitation, Toribio added.
The NNC-7 and MIND-7 personnel later in the day proceeded to Carmen's Barangay Guadalupe, which is also a candidate of Bohol for the Outstanding Barangay in Central Visayas, in the field of nutrition.
Guadalupe Barangay Chairman Martiniano Revilla said their barangay won in the past the Best Barangay in Carmen town with the best practices in nutrition.
Revilla explained that one of the factors in bagging the award is that most of his constituents have practice backyard gardening that have provided them nutritious food at a lesser cost.— Mitchelle L.