THE National Nutrition Council (NNC) is seeking to strengthen the role of local governments in addressing child malnutrition while focusing its monitoring system toward measurable health outcomes.
NNC's move comes as the council responds to concerns raised during a Senate budget hearing regarding child stunting rates, performance evaluation, and program implementation.
Dr. Albert Francis Domingo, NNC Executive Director IV, said the council's mandate under Presidential Decree 491 is focused on policy formulation and coordination rather than program implementation.
According to the NNC, directing large-scale feeding operations from a central policy office can create procurement and supply chain bottlenecks.
Major dietary supplementation funds, including those requested under the Department of Health's Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, are therefore designed to be downloaded directly to local government units (LGUs), the council said.
That arrangement gives local chief executives and community frontliners greater ownership of nutrition programs within their jurisdictions.
Measuring results
However, the NNC is overhauling its monitoring and evaluation system based on LGU performance ratings.
The council is shifting away from measuring basic process inputs, such as planning documents and administrative compliance, toward tangible outputs and long-term health outcomes.
Under this approach, the NNC will assess LGU performance using multisectoral scorecards coordinated with the Department of Budget and Management, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of Education, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Moreover, the NNC said the scorecards will focus on actual reductions in child stunting, wasting, and underweight rates.
First 1,000 days
The NNC is also working to institutionalize an expanded “Unang Yakap” First 1,000 Days benefit package in partnership with the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and the Department of Health.
The package covers a continuum of care from before conception through a child's first years.
It includes food fortification strategies, such as adding folate to flour to prevent birth defects, as well as antenatal care, immediate newborn vaccination, exclusive breastfeeding, and complementary feeding up to 59 months.
In addition, the council is exploring ways to extend family engagement beyond current 4Ps beneficiaries by linking routine health center visits with broader incentive programs, including food assistance initiatives.
Barangay-level intervention
The NNC said the country's network of more than 42,000 Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS) will help drive efforts at the community level.
BNS workers conduct household mapping to reach malnourished children, including those in remote communities, according to the council.
The NNC said its approach seeks to align policy with local implementation by empowering LGUs, strengthening outcome-based monitoring and protecting children during the first 1,000 days of life.
“Form must follow function, and policy must align seamlessly with local execution,” the council said.
The council said the strategy is intended to ensure that public resources translate into better nutrition outcomes for Filipino children.