Davao City: The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG XI), through a memorandum, has provided a Department of Health (DOH)-approved set of guidelines for the nutrition cluster in Region XI.
The said guidelines are designed to provide communities all over the region with proper nutrition by advising all local government units, non-government organizations, business companies, and other civic-oriented organizations providing nutrition services to provide food relief assistance that is well-balanced and high in nutrition value.
In an advisory provided by the National Nutrition Cluster, the guidelines approved by the DOH for the proper implementation of relief efforts by all nutrition service providers call for a more impactful approach in addressing the needs of communities within the Davao Region.
“Promote good nutrition by emphasizing to the general public the importance of eating a variety of nutritious foods … to naturally strengthen the body’s immune system against COVID-19,” the advisory stated.
One of the main priorities of the said advisory by the NNC is to prioritize the relief efforts of nutrition service providers towards sectors of the population who are undernourished and those who may be more prone to infection,
“…give top priority to households and people with special needs: infants, children, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, older persons, disabled persons, indigenous peoples, and those with debilitating conditions,” the report indicated.
A significant part of the delivery of relief services to most affected communities is the composition of food relief packs that are being turned over to each household. The advisory of the NNC is to put together a properly balanced set of food items per food pack.
“Family food packs should contain age- and culturally-appropriate, clean and nutritious food items … LGUs are also encouraged to include fresh dark green and dark yellow vegetables and fruits in the food packs as far as practicable,” the advisory stated. (PIA XI/KPC)
