Good news to all the members of the barangay nutrition committee!
The National Nutrition Council will be distributing “Bye-Bye, Bansot sa Barangay! Gabay para sa Wastong Nutrisyon ng Barangay”, a comprehensive quick reference guide for nutrition program management in barangays. The brochure contains information on the importance of having proper nutrition, steps on establishing a functional barangay nutrition committee, and implementation of the barangay nutrition program.
As the barangay is regarded as the basic unit of organization in the whole multi-level network of nutrition program implementation, it is, therefore, fitting to be able to disseminate information on the implementation of the barangay nutrition program, particularly to the main stakeholders – the members of the barangay nutrition committee (BNC).
In line with the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition, the BNC, through the guidance of the provincial, city, or municipal government, should be able to come up with a corresponding barangay nutrition action plan (BNAP) with objectives of decreasing the prevalence of stunting, wasting, overweight and obesity, nutritionally at-risk pregnant women, and low birth weight infants. Moreover, the BNAP should also aim to increase the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding.
Some of the recommended actions to be included in the BNAP to achieve its objectives include: 1) strengthening the monitoring and evaluation of pregnant women to provide appropriate health and nutrition services, including nutrition counseling; 2) provision of assistance on proper infant and young child feeding, particularly on exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding; and 3) strengthening of resources and provision of ready-to-use therapeutic to malnourished children, among the many recommendations included in the brochure. These recommended actions should be based on the nutrition situation in the barangay to better suit the nutritional concerns.
The Bye-Bye, Bansot sa Barangay brochure is one of the IEC materials (Information, Education, Communication) that the National Nutrition Council releases. This leaflet brochure of the strategies of NNC in strengthening and implementing the Barangay Nutrition Program effectively and to provide information to every household to give support to the Barangay Nutrition Committee in reducing the prevalence of stunted children in the country. (AVETP)
