The first ever online conference of the Barangay Nutrition Action Officers of Metro Manila is set to take place in November this year. In a meeting of the Association of Nutrition Action Officers of NCR (ANAO-NCR), Inc. held on September 29, 2020, the group agreed that that the Association will be partnering with the National Nutrition Council-NCR in holding this event online.
The Barangay Nutrition Action Officers (NAOs) are among the key personalities in the implementation of the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition or PPAN in the communities. The PPAN is the government’s masterplan in improving the nutrition situation of the country. As the focal persons for nutrition in the barangay, the BNAOs are responsible for coordinating the PPAN programs on the ground. The BNAOs assist the Barangay Chairperson being the Chair of the Barangay Nutrition Committee (BNC) in ensuring that the BNC is active and functional. They initiate regular BNC meetings as take the lead in the formulation of the Barangay Nutrition Action Plan (BNAP). They also work for the integration of the BNAP in the barangay development plans and budgets. They also assess the progress of their BNAP implementation and provide administrative supervision to the barangay nutrition workers called Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS).
The ANAO-NCR aims to capacitate the BNAOs through the online conference on various aspects of nutrition program management such as mobilizing the BNC Committee and making it functional, initiating the conduct of BNAP planning workshop; lobbying for investments to the PPAN programs particularly the First 1000 Days Program, and assisting in the implementation of the Barangay Nutrition Scholar Program (BNSP).
The roles of BNAOs in the PPAN particularly in the First 1000 Days and Nutrition in Emergencies Programs will be highlighted during the conference. Selected BNAOs will also be invited to share their good practices on making the BNC functional, implementation of the BNS Program and COVID-19 nutrition and nutrition-related responses.
The officers and board members of the ANAO-NCR, Inc. are confident that this regional online event will be welcomed enthusiastically by the BNAOs from all over Metro Manila as an opportunity to empower themselves as PPAN movers in their respective barangays. (ELF/MEVF/NNC-NCR)
