The nutrition program for 2,000 underweight and severely underweight children of the provincial government of Negros Occidental kicked off Thursday in the municipalities of La Castellana and Moises Padilla, with eight more local government units scheduled to launch shortly.
The protocols of the program are designed and implemented by the Negrense for Volunteers for Change (NVC) Foundation in partnership with the participating LGUs’ health offices, a press release said.
The launching included the orientation of health personnel and mothers, as well as the distribution of weighing scales and measuring instruments by NVC. Their initial supply of Mingo meals for children in the program was also given.
Mingo is an instant nutritious complementary food for infants and toddlers manufactured by NVC in its government accredited production plant.
Sourced from local farmers, it is made from rice, mongo and moringa (malunggay) and flavored with natural ingredients such as squash, cocoa, and ube. It contains vitamins and minerals for brain development and has been used by NVC in its in-house Nutrition Program with a daily feeding protocol for six months such as this one to be implemented for the 2,000 children.
The P4,973,000 grant from the provincial government was released to NVC Thursday last week.
It was granted under the Provincial Council for Protection of Children of which NVC is a member.
NVC will implement the program for six months during which it will conduct its usual monitoring, documentation and evaluation procedures.
It also expects to distribute at least 513,000 Mingo meals during the period, with some children given double or triple dose according to their nutritional condition, the press release added.*
