The Philippines continues to bring people together for a shared view to address both undernutrition and overnutrition in the country. The National Nutrition Council (NNC) is the highest policymaking and coordinating body for nutrition. It is composed of an NNC Governing Board and NNC Secretariat. The NNC Governing Board is a chaired by the Department of Health, and co-chaired by the Departments of Agriculture and Interior and Local Government. The NNC Secretariat serves as the executive arm of the NNC Governing Board. The NNC is supported by an NNC Technical Committee, which is composed of technical representatives from the health and agriculture sectors, local government, academia and civil society organisations. Technical working groups have been organised to look into specific concerns. Priority areas include. salt iodisation, mandatory food fortification, nutrition in emergencies, nutrition surveillance and Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
A Programme Management Committee for the Sub-outcome on Food and Nutrition Security, under the United Nations (UN) Development Assistance Framework, is co-convened by the NNC Secretariat and the World Food Programme. It includes government and UN agencies A Working Group on Food Security and Nutrition under the Philippine Development Forum (PDF) is co-convened by the NNC Secretariat and the Food and Agriculture Organization. The PDF is the primary mechanism of the government to facilitate substantive policy dialogue among stakeholders.
Non-government organisations in the Philippines have formed the coalition The Philippine Coalition of Advocates in Nutrition. The coalition is represented in the formal government structure for policy formulation and coordination.
At the local level, inter-agency local nutrition committees are chaired by elected local chief executives. These committees, provide the mechanism for multi-sectoral action to address local nutrition problems. Further decentralisation exists at the village or barangay level with community-based nutrition volunteer workers called Barangay Nutrition Scholars. These scholars identify families with malnourished (both over- and undernourished) children through regular growth monitoring activities, and assist in the delivery of nutrition and related interventions.
Last updated: October 2015
Private partners step up efforts to help end hunger by 2030 in the Philippines
Helping mothers in rural communities nourish children during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
Feeding program for students to continue amid pandemic in the Philippines
Philippines presents a Compendium of Local Ordinances and Issuances on Nutrition
Leveraging innovation, partnership to shore up food security in Asia and the Pacific
Solving global malnutrition: investing in innovations for local food systems