The Barangay Nutrition Scholars of Caloocan City, like the other BNSs in Metro Manila, are conducting the Operation Timbang (OPT) Plus in the different barangays of the city this first quarter of the year. This activity spearheaded by the City Nutrition Committee is wholeheartedly supported by the Barangay Captains, Barangay Nutrition Action Officers, and the Purok Leaders in the different barangays in the city.

OPT Plus is conducted every first quarter of the year, from January to March. It is the annual weighing and length/height measurement of all preschoolers 0-59 months old or below five (5) years old in all barangays to determine their nutritional status. Data from the OPT Plus indicate the number of stunted, wasted, underweight, and overweight infants and preschoolers. It also shows the number of children with normal nutritional status. These numbers determine the magnitude of the malnutrition problem in the barangay.

The results of the OPT Plus is used by the local nutrition committee in formulating their Local Nutrition Action Plan (LNAP). It should be anchored on the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN), the country’s framework in reducing all forms of malnutrition. Implementing the nutrition-specific and sensitive programs in the LNAP will improve the nutrition situation of the locality.

According to Caloocan City’s Nutrition Program Coordinator Ms. Maria Teresa G. Abando, the conduct of OPT Plus during the pandemic is very challenging. It is difficult for the BNSs to do the OPT house-to-house like what they always do prior to the pandemic. Mothers are hesitant to have the weight and length/height of their children measured due to fear of getting the COVID-19 virus. Also, many BNSs and nutritionist-dietitians (NDs) got infected with the COVID-19 virus, hampering the conduct of OPT plus due to limited availability of nutrition workers deployed in the barangays for the activity.  Despite the threat of the COVID-19, the city continues to do the OPT Plus activities, following the health safety protocols and the Interim Guidelines on the conduct of OPT Plus during the pandemic issued by the National Nutrition Council. The city government also hired additional NDs who will focus on the nutrition programs of the city, including the conduct of OPT Plus.

Nutrition workers maximize their visit to the barangays by integrating other services during OPT Plus such as distribution of Vitamin A capsules, deworming, distribution of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) to moderate and severe acute malnutrition (MAM and SAM) cases, and distribution of complementary foods to children 6-23 months old. They also disseminate relevant nutrition information on how to feed infants and young children correctly.

Despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic, the local government units are enjoined to implement the OPT Plus.  Doing the OPT plus amid the pandemic is indeed very challenging but it is a challenge worth hurdling.  The OPT Plus provide invaluable information on the nutritional status of under-five children, reflecting the nutrition situation of a locality.  It is important to locate and identify children who are malnourished and determine how many need to be reached with appropriate nutrition interventions, particularly during the first 1000 days of life.

Written by: NOI Janna Alexia Necio and
NPC Milagros Elisa V. Federizo