DAVAO CITY, May 20 (PIA) - In light of the recent effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in communities throughout the Davao Region, the National Nutrition Council (NNC XI) is campaigning for the proper nutrition of communities when it comes to the distribution of food packs by local government units.

The Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator of the NNC XI Dr. Maria Teresa L. Ungson discussed how vital it is for local governments to closely monitor the distribution and composition of food packs in their respective localities since building up health-centered nutrition of their constituents is the first line of defense in minimizing the risk of COVID-19.

"We're actually giving advice to our LGUs and recommending sa mga nutrition cluster sa baba how to make their food packs more nutritious (We're actually giving advice to our LGUs and recommending to the nutrition clusters on the ground on how to make their food packs more nutritious)", Dr. Ungson said.

Dr. Ungson also reminds local governments to refrain from distributing infant milk formulas for infants since it cannot replace the nutrition value that breastfeeding provides to infants. That is why the NNC XI is promoting exclusive breast-feeding for the nutritional needs of infants.

"Ang breast milk po ay puno yan ng anti-bodies so yan yung unang bakuna ni baby (Breastmilk is packed with antibodies and that also serves as the first vaccine for the infant)", Dr. Ungson added.

Currently, there are already efforts by certain local governments in incorporating fresh vegetables in their distributed food packs for their communities instead of only donating processed foods like canned meats and instant noodles.

"Kaya nga nauso na ngayon - maraming nang nagdadagdag ng gulay sa food packs hindi na panay de lata (The trend now is that there are a lot of food packs which include fresh vegetables and not just exclusively canned goods)," Dr. Ungson mentioned. (PIA XI/KPLCaro)