The Department of Health- Regional Office I (DOH-ROI) through the initiative of the NNC Regional Office I and Regional Nutrition Committee (RNC) procured steel rules and weighing scales for all LGUs in the region to ensure accuracy and reliability of nutritional assessment particularly the annual Operation Timbang Plus (OPT+) at the local level.

This is in support to the full adoption of the World Health Organization- Child Growth Standards (WHO-CGS) where weight-for-height/length and height/length-for-age are included as indicator to determine the magnitude of wasting and stunting, respectively.

A total of 3,256 pieces of steel rules was procured by DOH-ROI in 2015 and is currently being distributed in all barangays regionwide.

Local Government Units (LGUs) are responsible in mounting the steel rules in a fabricated wooden heightboards following the guidelines provided by NNC.

Also, a total of 2,162 hanging-type weighing scales were provided to identified barangays with no functional weighing scales as determined by the Provincial and City Nutrition Offices.

These measuring tools shall be under the care of the Barangay Nutrition Committees and Barangay Nutrition Scholars.

DOH-ROI and NNC RO I also conducted simultaneous trainings on the World Health Organization- Child Growth Standards (WHO-CGS) covering all Local Nutrition Action Officers (NAOs) in 2015.

The RNC is looking forward for a more reliable and accurate result of local nutrition assessment this year.