Nutrition council bats for nutribuns for moms, toddlers

The National Nutrition Council (NCC) backed the proposal of Senator Imee Marcos to revive the Nutribun Feeding Program amid the continuous rise in hunger incidence in the country, but added it should be expanded to benefit toddlers and lactating mothers.

“Alam naman natin na ang feeding program ay isang magandang estratehiya na makakatulong na magbigay ng sustansya sa katawan kung kaya kami sa NCC ay kaisa at lubos na sumusuporta sa plano ni Sen. Imee,” NCC Executive Director Azucena Dayanghirang said in a public briefing on Wednesday.

(We know that feeding programs are a good strategy to help boost Filipinos’ health so the NCC is one with Sen. Imee in her program.)

“Napakalahaga na maibalik ang nutribun feeding program lalo na sa mga paaralan sa kadahilanan  na ang hunger incidence sa pamilyang Pilipino ay patuloy na tumataas sa mga nagdaang taon lalo na ngayong Covid-19 pandemic,” she added.

(It is important to revive the nutribun feeding program in schools due to the rising hunger incidence among Filipino families especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.)

Nutribun is a bread product included in the government’s feeding program in the 1970s.

In June 2020, the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) launched its “enhanced” version to boost the country’s food security program amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

New variants including those flavored with squash, orange, sweet potato, ube, and carrot were released in April 2021.

A 160-gram serving of the enhanced nutribun contains 504 kilocalories and 17.8 grams of protein — equivalent to two servings of rice, according to Dayanghirang.

But while she bats for the resumption of its distribution in public schools, Dayanghirang also appealed for the expansion of the feeding program to children aged 0-2 years old along with pregnant and lactating women.

“Mahalaga na maibalik ang libreng pamamahagi ng nutribun sa mga public schools natin pero sana hindi lamang sa mga bata sa eskwelahan dahil importante rin ang grupo ng mga batang may edad 0-2 years old at mga buntis at mga lactating women. Ito yung tinatawag natin na first 1000 days population dahil sila ay higit na nangangailangan ng dagdag na pagkain na ibinibigay gaya ng enhanced nutribun,” she said.

(It is important to revive the free distribution of nutribun in public schools but it is also vital to help the population of children 0-2 years old along with pregnant and lactating women. They are what we call the ‘first 1000 days’ population and they need the additional nutrients from nutribun.)

A simultaneous pilot testing of the nutribun feeding program for children aged three to five in the provinces of Rizal, Cebu, and Ilocos Norte over the weekend.

The Philippines experiences a “triple burden” in malnutrition, the official said. This means undernutrition which includes stunted and wasted growth, overnutrition and micronutrient deficiency are prevalent in the country.

Citing data from the 2018 Expanded National Nutrition Survey, Dayanghirang said 29.6% of Filipino children aged 0-29 months have stunted growth, 19.1% are underweight, 5.7% experienced wasted growth and 3.5% are overweight.—LDF, GMA News