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| FNRI staff Ms. Dorado and Ms. Viajar with Biliran PNC members |
Project ANAK or “Accelerated Nutrient Advocacy for Kids” is a model delivery system for complementary feeding intervention aimed to alleviate the malnutrition problem among children from six months to two years old. Ms. Julieta B. Dorado, Supervising Science Research Specialist and Ms. Rowena V. Viajar Science Research Specialist II both of DOST-FNRI served as resource persons during the advocacy.
The event was first conducted on January 17, 2019 in the Municipality of Naval particularly at the Biliran Provincial Hospital-Conference Room attended by the members of the Provincial Nutrition Council of Biliran represented by various agencies operating in the province such as DOH, DepED, DILG, PIA, and the Provincial Local Government Units (Provincial Agriculture, Provincial Social Welfare, and others). The next leg was in the Municipality of Biliran attended by the members of the Municipal Nutrition Council and the last leg was conducted in Cabucgayan, Biliran also attended by members of the Municipal Nutrition Council of the Municipality.
Project ANAK will focus on providing feeding intervention using the complementary food produced by DOST-FNRI complementary food production centers in Region VIII. One of these production centers will be established in Naval, Biliran funded by DOST-8 through the Yolanda Rehabilitation and Recovery Program and the DOST-8 Grant-in-Aid Program to be operated by the WORD KALIPI assisted by the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office with support from the Provincial Government of Biliran, through Hon. Governor Gerardo “Gerry Boy” Espina, Jr.
The feeding program is part of the first 1,000 days health program for children. The 1,000 days program covers from conception up to childbirth to ensure mother healthy pregnancy, safe delivery and for 6 months breastfeeding infants then from 6 months to 2 years of age. Together with stable, responsive relationships with caregivers and safe and nurturing environments,nutrition during a child’s first 1,000 days builds the foundation for a child’s development. When one or more of these supports is absent, a child’s physical, social, emotional and cognitive development can suffer, resulting in the loss of opportunities that are every child’s birthright.During the first 1,000 days, the brain grows more quickly than at any other time in a person’s life and a child needs the right nutrients at the right time to feed her brain’s rapid development.
There are three crucial stages in the first 1,000 days: pregnancy, infancy and toddlerhood. At each stage during the 1,000-day window, the developing brain is vulnerable to poor nutrition—either through the absence of key nutrients required for proper cognitive functioning and neural connections and/or through the “toxic stress” experienced by a young child whose family has experienced prolonged or acute adversity caused by food insecurity. Project ANAK focuses on the 3rd stage.
The procurement of complementary foods such as the “BIG MO” Rice-mongo instant blend, “BIG MO” Rice-mongo-sesame blend, a ready-to-cook baby food, and “BIG MO” Rice-mongo Curls, a snack food, could be funded by Local Government Units or other nutrition advocacy groups to assure continuous implementation of the program.