Child Nutrition Program Brings Health Resources to Makati and Taguig

The Makati East Philippines Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held its Child Nutrition Program (CNP) screening at the Comembo Chapel in Taguig City on July 20, 2024.

In partnership with four Rotary clubs, Barangays Pembo and Comembo, and the office of Senator Imee Marcos, 59 children were screened, and six expectant mothers received medical check-ups.

President Samuel Acosta, second counselor in the Stake Presidency, said the program aimed to teach parents how to better care for their children by including nutritious ingredients in their meals.

Doctors from Ospital ng Makati, Jose Reyes Medical Center, and Bicutan Medical Center provided free medical consultations for children and expectant mothers.

“I feel happy participating in this activity to check the mothers to make sure they are healthy. This is a big help to pregnant women because sometimes there are those who choose not to go to pre-natal check-ups due to budget constraints,” said Dr. Kristine Balictar, OB-GYN at Bicutan Medical Center.

Naneth Tabirao, a participant in the CNP, said she learned the importance of proper nutrition and how to make food more attractive to children. “We really need to pay attention to what our children eat because once they have tasted junk food, they will always want it,” she said.

She also shared that she plans to try the recipes suggested during the nutrition counseling because her 20-month-old baby has recently taken to only eating plain porridge. “I need to come up with new recipes. I will consider the recipes given here, which are affordable and nutritious,” she said.

Shella Torres of the Rotary Club of Makati San Miguel expressed support for the child nutrition program, saying, “One of the goals of our group is to support the Coalition of First 1,000 Days, which seeks to ensure that children from conception up to five years old get proper nutrition." Experts claim that the first 1,000 days of a child’s life is the critical period during which malnutrition and other health problems can have long-lasting effects on a child’s health and development.

Recognizing this crucial window of opportunity, chairman Kim Abbang of Barangay Pembo said local government units were actively seeking to be involved in activities such as the Church's Child Nutrition screening. “We are here to promote the health of the youth,” he said.

Apart from inviting the doctors to the event, the Rotary clubs of Makati San Miguel, Lex et Salus Makati, Makati F. Zobel, and Las Piñas South also gave away vitamins and vegetables for the children and their families. Senator Imee Marcos's office brought its “Nutri-Jeep” to distribute vitamin-fortified bread known as “nutribuns.”

Dr. Don Kenneth Parde, an emergency medicine resident from Ospital ng Makati, said this was a worthwhile activity he was happy to be a part of, considering the dangers of malnutrition to children in the area. “We are able to help by counseling the mothers and the kids, especially regarding diet, and assessing if appropriate feeding is given to the children.”