Tabuk City, Kalinga – During his visit for the turnover of 1,887 food sets for nutritionally at-risk pregnant women in the province, Cabinet Secretary and Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger (IATF-ZH) Chairman Karlo Nograles underscored how critical the first 1,000 days life of a child when he spoke before the beneficiaries on Saturday, September 25, 2021.
“Alam mo yung 1,000 first days of life, base sa siyensya, sa mga doktor, mga eksperto, ito ang pinaka-kritikal period sa buhay ng tao… Dito po pumapasok yung ‘rapid brain development’ng mga bata. Dito natin malalaman pag ang bata ba ay lalaki ng matalino o lalaki na kulang ang potentials,” he said.
He added that if parents are not able to ensure that their child receives proper and sufficient nutrition, this would affect the child in the latter part of their lives. And thus, the giving of the food sets prioritizing expectant mothers as part of the fight against malnutrition is a major concern.
As explained by Nograles, the first 1,000 days of life begin during the conception of the child in its mother’s womb until the child reaches 2 years of age.
“Kung titingnan natin ang laban natin against Covid-19, ang pinag aaanuhan natin dito is yung future, ang kinabukasan ng ating bansa, kinabukasan ng ating mga mamamayan eh lalo na higit na dapat bantayan natin ang kaligtasan at kabuhayan at ang future ng mga kabataan kaya ang napili po naming ay mga buntis na nanay dahil ngayon pa lamang ay dapat na nating mapangalagaan ang kalusugan ng kanilang mga anak,” Nograles said explaining that these lead them to their tie up with the National Nutrition Council and the national government.
Aside from the food sets, journals created by the task force with its partners from private and government institutions were also distributed. Nograles said the journal plays a vital role as it contains tips and information that will guide parents in raising their children until they turn 5 years old.
Added to this, nutritious foods that should be cooked for their children, ingredients, nutritional facts, and instructions on how to cook them were also provided in the journal, which will not only benefit their children but also their families as a whole.
“Dahil importante po na pagkatapos ng program na ito ay mayroong kaming maiiwan na tips, information, knowledge, awareness para sa inyo na magagamit ninyo sa pagpapalaki ng inyong mga anak because at the end of the day pag natapos na kami, ang maaari lang naming [gawin ay ang]pagbibigay ng tips,pero nasa inyo na po iyan kung paano niyo gagamitin ang mga ito para siguradong malusog ang ating mga anak lalo na’t higit sa panahon pandemya,” Nograles concluded.
As recalled, the IATF-ZH granted the provision of food sets as a response to the request of Governor Tubban and Congressman Allen Jesse Mangaoang to address the dietary needs of several nutritionally at-risk pregnant women.
The aim is to help protect unborn children in Kalinga from wasting and stunting, which could be checked during the first 1,000 days of a child.
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