Just three months after attending the Barangay Leadership for Nutrition and Development (BL4ND), five barangays (villages) in Manila fulfilled needed nutrition reforms, including:

• the formulation of the Barangay Nutrition Action Plan with funding;
• the designation of the Barangay Nutrition Action Officer; and
• intensified tracking, profiling, and assessment of pregnant women and malnourished children.

Barangays 123, 212, 564, 598, and 733 attended the BL4ND on Sept. 27-28, 2022. Organized by the Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF)-trained facilitators from Manila’s health department and Samaritan’s Purse, an international NGO, the two-day training helped the participants see clearly the gaps in their nutrition systems. The participants then organized their next steps with the end goal of improving the nutritional outcomes of their population—particularly pregnant women and children under two years old.

ZFF will be checking the progress again in March when barangays are expected to meet all of their targets.

Learn more about ZFF’s programs on nutrition, focusing on the first 1,000 days: https://zuelligfoundation.org/programs/nutrition/.

(Published February 14, 2023)