Members of the Iloilo Provincial Nutrition Committee attend the Advocacy Strategy Development and Planning Workshop organized by the Nutrition Foundation Philippines, Inc. (NFP) and Nutrition International from February 26-28, 2025 at Smallville 21 Hotel, Iloilo City which aims to assist local government units strengthen their nutrition advocacies and increase financing for nutrition programs.

The participants are led by Provincial Nutrition Action Officer Dr. Wendel Tupas Marcelo and Provincial Nutrition Coordinator Leni Desin. They are composed of representatives from the Provincial Agriculture Office, Provincial Planning and Development Office, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, Public Information and Community Affairs Office, and the Department of Education Division of Iloilo.

The workshop also gathered participants from the municipalities of Lambunao and Dumangas and the City of Passi. These LGUs recorded high prevalence of malnutrition.

In his welcome remarks on the first day, Provincial Administrator Raul Banias said there is a need for local government units to allocate funds intended for nutrition programs to realize the goal of the province to be malnutrition-free.

“Indeed there is an urgent need to provide sustainable and enough funding to address nutrition because it has deep and great impact on our children’s development especially their cognitive and learning abilities. We hope we can influence our legislative and executive officials and even expand this advocacy to the rest of the province,” Banias said.

“Gov. Toto Defensor is committed to addressing these inequities and we must all do our part. Increasing LGU financing for nutrition is not just an investment in food, it is an investment in education, health, and the very foundation of the Ilonggo’s future,” Banias added.

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