Victorias City headed by Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez partnered with the Negrense Volunteers for Change (NVC) Foundation Inc. anew in its bid to combat malnutrition.
Benitez signed a memorandum of agreement for the Mingo MingGROW Protocol for Stunted Children and a memorandum of understanding for the creation of the Nutrition Master Plan for Victorias City.
The MingGROW Protocol is a 12-month complementary nutrition program for stunted children ages 6 to 36 months old.
According to the World Health Organization, stunted children are those who have impaired growth and development due to poor nutrition, repeated infection, and deficient psychosocial stimulation.
Under the agreement, Negrense Volunteers for Change Foundation shall ensure the daily provision of 16 to 24 ounces of fresh milk per child, prescribed vitamins, and minerals during the first month.
It shall also facilitate home and group visits and assist in creating family and community gardens for sustainable food supply, among others.
NVC chief executive officer and president Millie Kilayko introduced the new nutrition program.
Under the program, the Barangay Nutrition Scholars will lead peer groups, consisting of the mothers of beneficiaries, which will monitor and record the developments of beneficiaries.
All peer groups created for this program will be qualified for the cash incentive at the end of the project period as soon as they complete the prescribed nutrition requirements.
These initiatives will be granted in coordination with the city government.
NVC will also provide siblings of the beneficiaries with Mingo meals.
For the planning and development of Victorias City Nutrition Master Plan, the city will be one of the pilot areas of NVC for the implementation of the newly- designed and tested protocols for the eradication of malnutrition.
In his message, Benitez said that through the partnership, the local government unit aims to achieve zero stunted and severely stunted children in Victorias City.
Victorias City and NVC launched their first partnership on April 12, 2023, with the feeding program for 307 children in the city, a press statement from the City Public Information Office said. ||
