language, motor and sensory stimulation with the aim of optimizing their cognitive,
physical, emotional and social abilities, to avoid undesired states in development;
(e) First one thousand (1,000) days of life refers to the period of a child's life, spanning
the nine (9) months in the womb starting from conception to the first twenty-four (24)
months of life, which is considered to be the critical window of opportunity to promote
health and development and prevent malnutrition and its life-long consequences;
(f) Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) refer to areas that are
isolated due to distance or geographical isolation, weather conditions and lack of
modes of transportation. This also refers to unserved and underserved communities
and other areas identified to have access or service delivery problems, high incidence
of poverty, presence of vulnerable sector, communities in or recovering from situation of
crisis or armed conflict, and those recognized as such by a government body;
(g) Low birth weight refers to weight at birth of an infant, whether born full term or
preterm, of less than 2,500 grams or 5.5 pounds, or 5 pounds and 8 ounces;
(h) Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person's intake of
protein, energy (carbohydrates and fats) and/or nutrients covering both undernutrition
which includes suboptimal breastfeeding, stunting, wasting or thinness, underweight
and micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies, as well as overnutrition, which includes
overweight and obesity;
(i) Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) refers to low weight-for-length/height, defined as
between two (2) and three (3) Standard Deviations (SD) below the median (<-2 up to -3
SD) of the WHO growth standards or a Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC)
measurement of less than one hundred twenty-five millimeters (<125mm) and greater
than or equal to one hundred fifteen millimeters (>115mm);
(j) Nutrition-sensitive interventions and programs refer to interventions or programs that
address the underlying determinants of maternal, fetal, infant and child nutrition and
development, such as those pertaining to food security, social protection, adequate
caregiving resources at the maternal, household and community levels; and access to
health services and a safe and hygienic environment, and incorporate specific nutrition
goals and actions. Nutrition-sensitive programs can serve as delivery platforms for
nutrition-specific interventions, potentially increasing their scale, coverage, and
effectiveness;
(k) Nutrition-specific interventions and programs refer to interventions or programs that
address the immediate determinants of maternal, fetal, infant and child nutrition and
development, adequate food and nutrient intake, feeding, caregiving and parenting
practices, and low burden of infectious diseases;
(l) Nutritionally-at-risk pregnant women refers to pregnant women, including teenage
mothers, with a low pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) or those who do not gain
sufficient weight during pregnancy, with any of the following predisposing factors:
narrowly-spaced pregnancies and births, situated in families with low income, with large
number of dependents where food purchase is an economic problem, has previously
given birth to a preterm or low birth weight infant, or other unfavorable prognostic