This poster presented at the Evidence and Implementation Summit 2025, held October 27–29, 2025 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Australia, showcases the First 1,000 Days (F1KD) Nutrition Roadmap. The roadmap guides local governments in strengthening maternal and child nutrition by applying the World Health Organization (WHO)’s health system building blocks and the Zuellig Family Foundation’s Eight Critical Knobs of Nutrition Governance.

From 2019–2022, the roadmap improved governance, planning, financing, data use, and service delivery across five priority provinces under the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) through a structured systems review and adaptive learning tools. It enabled local governments to act more cohesively, use evidence effectively, and integrate stronger strategies into their Provincial Nutrition Action Plans (PNAPs). While the country reduced stunting rates nationally, ongoing malnutrition and food insecurity underscore the need to further strengthen multisectoral and locally driven nutrition systems.

Read more:

• From Evidence to Action: Strengthening Nutrition Governance through the First 1,000 Days Roadmap

The Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF) and the Department of Health (DOH)-Eastern Visayas formalized its continuing collaboration to strengthen family health and nutrition in the region. On October 29, 2025, ZFF President and Executive Director Austere Panadero and DOH-Eastern Visayas Regional Director Dr. Exuperia Sabalberino signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the implementation of the Pook Malusog Family Stunting Reduction (FaStR) Program. 

The Pook Malusog FaStR Program focuses on supporting families during the first 1,000 days (F1KD) of life—a crucial period for a child’s growth and development. It seeks to strengthen the knowledge and practices of families in preventing stunting, while enhancing the leadership and technical capacity of health and nutrition frontliners.

Through this partnership, the Pook Malusog FaStR Program will be piloted in four municipalities of Eastern Visayas: Gandara and San Jose De Buan in Samar Province, and Mapanas and Lope De Vega in Northern Samar Province from 2025 to 2026.

Under the agreement, ZFF will provide coaching, mentoring, and technical assistance to DOH-Eastern Visayas and the pilot municipalities to guide them in effectively implementing the Pook Malusog FaStR model. By working together to localize the Pook Malusog approach, both institutions aim to build lasting systems of care that empower families, strengthen local leadership, and sustain progress in reducing child stunting across Eastern Visayas.