Davao City – Compostela Valley province bagged the Green Banner Award under the provincial level category, during the recent Regional Nutrition Awarding Ceremony held in Grand Regal Hotel, Davao City.
The plaque and banner were presented on Monday, Jan. 7, by District Nutrition Program Coordinator Marianita Cariño, during the first convocation program at the Capitol Lobby.
Cariño said that the province received the award for having the lowest prevalence of malnutrition in the Davao region in 2017. She bared that the prevalence rate of malnutrition in the province decreased from 3.6 in 2016 to 2.9 in 2017.
She attributed the decline to the different best practices conducted by the provincial government in enhancing the nutrition status of the children, such as the adopt the child program, community based feeding program and Kusina ng Kalinga.
Governor Jayvee Tyron Uy stressed that the next steps towards achieving the goal of 0 percent malnutrition will be to look into the nourishment of pregnant women and the first 1,000 days of the children.
Governor Uy disclosed that the provincial nutrition team will be going to Quezon province this January to study and replicate their 1,000 days nutrition program.
Uy also rallied to augment the number of Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS), saying that the current ratio of 1 BNS is to 1 barangay, is not enough to implement and monitor the nutrition program in the communities.
During the Regional Nutrition Awarding, the municipality of Maco also garnered the regional green banner award, municipal level. (PIA)