NNC-7 launches “Tutok Kainan” simultaneously in Central Visayas, other LGUs nationwide

CEBU CITY – The National Nutrition Council (NNC-7) conducted the soft-launched the newest Dietary Supplementation Program dubbed “Tutok Kainan” on November 23 in all its 27 targets LGUs in Cebu City, Negros Oriental Province and Siquijor Province simultaneously with the other targeted LGUs in the country, that aims to prevent stunting in the region and targets pregnant women to receive additional meals and food commodities to improve their nutrition.

According to NNC-7 regional director Parolita Mission that “Tutok Kainan” is a dietary supplementation program that aims to contribute to the prevention of stunting among children 0-23 months old by improving the quality and quantity of food and nutrient intake and the use of related ECCD F1KD services among nutritionally at-risk pregnant women and children 6-23 months old in the target program areas.

Mission said that “Tutok Kainan” pilot beneficiaries are pregnant women, especially those teenage pregnant women, anemic, and with low BMI and to be launched simultaneously throughout the country which initially targets Camarines Norte, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Cebu City, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Bukidnon and the National Capital Region-Caloocan, Navotas, Parañaque and Pateros.

The areas heavily hit by Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses were also targeted including Cagayan, Isabela, Albay, Catanduanes and Rodriguez, Rizal, Mission added.

NNC Executive Director Dr. Azucena Dayanghirang said that the program initially targets some 34,000 nutritionally at-risk pregnant women in provinces that have high rates of child stunting and areas affected by recent typhoons. 

By next year, the program hopes to expand to include malnourished children 6-23 months old. She explained that malnourished pregnant women and 6-23 months old children are specifically targeted to prevent child stunting in the first two years of life, or the period referred to as the First 1000 Days.

 “If we lose this opportunity to intervene in this critical period, we expect children to be stunted for the rest of their life as stunting becomes irreversible beyond 2 years. Stunting not only affects physical development but also mental development,” Dayanghirang stated.

“Tutok Kainan” program will provide the Enhanced Nutribun, ready-to-eat lipid-based nutritional supplement and hot meals for three months starting December this year alternated with other food commodities with the same nutrient content given in the first month and followed by the wet feeding for the next two months, Dayanghirang said.

Tutok Kainan is done in collaboration with the Interagency Task Force (IATF) on Zero Hunger chaired by Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles who also led the ceremonial feeding to a few pregnant women from the national capital region during the nationwide soft launch of the program.

About 500 participants attended the online event coming from the local government program areas, the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Business Network and Civil Society Alliance as well as other government agencies.

During the launch, the targeted LGUs were requested to provide counterpart resources including human resource and other logistics to complement the food commodities from NNC. Other partners were encouraged to provide additional support too.

Tutok Kainan is one platform of the National Dietary Supplementation Program of the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) 2017-2022).  Aside from Tutok Kainan, the DSWD and DepED also implement feeding programs among children enrolled in day care centers and elementary schools to address malnutrition as well as some local government units and non-government organizations.