To determine whether a child is growing normally or has growth problem, the National Nutrition Council Region 02 organized a training for Barangay Implemeters on WHO – Child Growth Standards which was attended by Barangay Nutrition Scholars, Rural Health Midwife and RN Heals.

The training course, is designed for health-care providers who measure and assess the growth of children or those who supervise these activities, so that implementation of the new growth standards will be accompanied by good measurement and plotting techniques.

Topics discussed during the one-day training included the Rationale for the Adoption of the WHO – Child Growth Standards in the Philippines composed of Measuring a Child’s Growth, the Interpretation of Growth, Counseling on Growth and Feeding, and the Weighing and Measuring of Children and an actual weighing of day-care children.

Ater the lecture proper, the participants went to an on-site practicum at the day-care center in Palanan.

In the list of the 2011 top 100 nutritionally depressed municipalities, Palanan, Isabela ranked 24th. There are 3 nutritionally depressed municipalities in Cagayan Valley region that belong to the top 100 nutritionally depressed municipalities in the country adding Divilacan as 51st and Maconacon as 91st .

Dir. Rhodora Guevarra Maestre, Nutrition Program Coordinator for Region 02 said that all BNSs regardless of nutrition standing will be trained on CGS to ensure that they would be able to do their tasks efficiently.

“They are also expected to counsel mothers on growth monitoring and feeding,” she added.

The next training is set on the last week of June in Maconacon and Divilacan Isabela.