The National Nutrition Council MIMAROPA conducted the First Federation of Barangay Nutrition Scholars (FBNSs) of Region IV-B held on 18th of March 2021, 9:00 AM via Zoom Application. It aimed to discuss the following: Sharing of Good Practices and Experiences by BNSs during COVID-19 Response, 2020 Regional Nutrition Situation, NNC Memorandum 2020-010 and Updates on e-OPT Tool, President and Treasurer’s Report, Guidelines on BNS Assistance Requests, 2021 Proposed Plans and Activities and other matters which include Election of New Officers, FBNS Advocacy Shirt and By Laws and Constitution of the association.
Nutrition Officer III Ms. Camille Chen facilitated the meeting and was beyond grateful for the participation of the officers of the federation. Attendees included FBNS President Ramona G. Fortuna of Brgy. Poblacion, Magsaysay, Occidental Mindoro; FBNS Vice President Edna V. Ayaton of Brgy. San Pedro, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan; FBNS Secretary Denia L. Lingon of Brgy. Buliasnin, Boac, Marinduque; FBNS Treasurer Mary Jane M. Rodia of Brgy. Tampayan, Magdiwang, Romblon; FBNS Project Officer April Rubelyn Marasigan of Brgy. San Vicente North, Calapan City; and FBNS Board Member Emelia M. Riambon of Brgy. Panacan 2, Narra, Palawan.
Prior to the technical session, BNS Lingon of Marinduque and BNS Ayaton of Puerto Princesa City shared some of the good practices and experiences by BNSs during COVID-19 response. This includes consideration of using Google drive when encoding data and preparing reports and documentations for ease access of all, meetings were conducted by batch in an open area to observe physical distancing and guarded at checkpoints to check body temperature of people entering the community. Though conduct of OPT Plus delays due to additional workload related to COVID-19, BNSs will ensure that OPT Plus will be completed on the first quarter of 2021.
For BNSs to perform the suitable steps on the conduct of OPT Plus and other related activities amidst pandemic, a discussion on NNC Memorandum No. 2020-010: “Interim Guidelines in the Conduct of OPT Plus, Nutrition Screening, Growth Monitoring and Promotion Activities in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Related Disasters” was deliberated. With this, the following were highlighted: a) Dos and don’ts of both OPT Team members and mothers/caregivers during measurement, b) Use of accurate eOPT tool depending on the measuring tools used by the OPT Team – Regular eOPT Tool (https://nnc.gov.ph/opt2021/category/203-region-ivb) and eOPT Tool for Acute Malnutrition (https://nnc.gov.ph/optacute/category/183-region-ivb), c) Decision Tree for LGUs on the Conduct of OPT Plus, Nutrition Screening and GMP, d) Scenarios at the LGUs based on DOH Department Memorandum No. 2020-0237 and e) Updates on the eOPT tool. To download the PDF file of the memorandum, click here: http://bit.ly/NNCMemo2020-010.
The body was notified on the updates of the federation through the report of BNS Federation President Fortuna and treasurer’s report of BNS Rodia. Alongside, guidelines on BNS assistance requests such as BNS Travelling Allowance Request, BNS Medical Assistance Request, BNS Survivorship Assistance and BNS CS Eligibility Request, were also discussed.
All FBNS officers will be provided with an advocacy shirt parallel to the preference of the body. Also, a token of Php100 data allowance will be provided to all the attendees in appreciation for participating the virtual meeting amidst heavy workload.
Fortunately, none of the BNSs in MIMAROPA Region was infected by the coronavirus. With this, FBNS officers will ensure that delivery of nutrition and nutrition-related services in their respective LGUs are continued with strict compliance to the minimum public safety protocols.
(NKSLoyola)
