The National Nutrition Council MIMAROPA recently conducted a reorientation meeting on Local Nutrition Early Warning System for Food and Nutrition Security (LNEWS-FNS) for the Municipal Core Group of Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro. It was attended by five (5) members of Municipal Core Group and four (4) Barangay Nutrition Scholars from the sentinel barangays which was conducted virtually through Zoom application platform. The meeting aims to orient the new members of Municipal Core Group regarding the program that was being implemented and reactivate as well the LNEWS-FNS program in the municipality, since 2015 was their last submission of report.
Ms. Eileen Blanco, the Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator and OIC of NNC MIMAROPA welcomed all the participants that were present in the meeting. She sighted that there was a signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between NNC MIMAROPA and the local government unit (LGU) of Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro where the roles and functions of each member of the Municipal Core Group were written. Moreover, NPC Blanco reminded the LGU to comply in the submission of their LNEWS quarterly report as one of the agreements in implementing the program. She ended her message with gratitude in taking time to attend the said activity.
The agenda of the activity includes the overview of the LNEWS-FNS, procedure on how to operate and input secondary data in the LNEWS tool, and their issues and concerns in the implementation of LNEWS in the LGU. The program was facilitated by NOI Patriarca in which he also discussed the overview of the LNEWS and the definition of food security. The LNEWS-FNS program is one of the nutrition interventions in Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro to decrease the malnutrition rates, specifically the underweight and stunted among 0-5 years old children for the municipality has the highest prevalence in the region. The LNEWS-FNS program mainly aims to detect possible existence of food insecurity in the community for the stakeholders to take necessary actions to prevent it from worsening which may lead to hunger and starvation that may cause malnutrition.
Furthermore, Mr. Erik Bacena, the Provincial Nutrition Focal Point, discussed how to operate the LNEWS tool which is needed to determine if nutrition insecurity exists within the community. PNFP Bacena explained comprehensively the step-by-step procedures to input secondary data which will be gathered at municipal level such as food price, food availability in the market, rainfall level and alike.
Moreover, MNAO Ms. Jessa Obrador raised her concern on the collection of primary data in the midst of a pandemic and the community is in lockdown for the municipality recorded a high case of COVID-19 positive. It will be difficult for the Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNSs) to collect primary data from the household. NPC Blanco suggested that it is better to conduct household interviews when the LGU is under favorable conditions so as not to risk the health of the BNSs. The NNC MIMAROPA and the LGU of Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro agreed to submit their third quarter report by the third week of October 2021. Without any further concerns from the participants, NOI Patriarca adjourned the meeting.
The Early Warning System for Food and Nutrition Security is one of the components of the Philippine Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (PFNSS) that is intended to enable LGUs to take timely nutrition action through early detection of a worsening nutrition situation based on monitoring of nutrition and nutrition-related indicators. NNC MIMAROPA implemented the LNEWS-FNS program in three municipalities namely Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro, Coron and Narra, Palawan and NNC MIMAROPA conduct timely monitoring and provide technical assistance if they need to for its continuous implementation.
Written by: NO I Patriarca
