NNC-ARMM equips selected LGUs in Maguindanao with knowledge and skills on Nutrition in Emergency by conducting its first ever Nutrition in Emergencies Training at Em Manor Hotel, Cotabato City on September 27-29, 2015. Twenty-one (21) Participants composed of Municipal Planning and Devlopment Coordinators (MPDC), Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Officers (MDRRMO), Municipal, Health Oficers (MHO) and Public Health Nurses (PHN) from seven (7) selected municipalities of Maguindanao namely: Datu Piang, Talitay, Talayan, Guindulungan, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Pagalungan, and Mamasapano completed the 3-day live-in training.

The training was facilitated by Ms. Hannah Farinah M. Lidasan, (Nutrition Officer III, NNC-ARMM), Ms. Celia Sagaral, RND (Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator, DOH-ARMM), Ms. Johaira M. Ali (Health Organization for Mindanao Representative) ,and Ms. Irene Anta, RND (Nutrition Officer I, NNC-ARMM).

The Philippines is situated dead center in Typhoon Alley, rests on the unstable “Ring of Fire” where volcanoes blast from the earth’s core, and rides earthquake prone tectonic plates as they slip one beneath the other.

Unlike any areas in the Philippines, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) experience both Natural and Manmade Calamities such as armed conflicts between government forces and the rebels, and clan wars in many parts of its areas, especially in Maguindanao.

This thorough training helped prepare the Local Government Unit with the expertise needed in rigging them with the basic health and nutrition services to their communities during emergencies from the calamity of another war or natural disasters. This training engaged an array of methods which steered the participants to understand their roles and responsibilities and enabled them to know what they would need in preparing for emergencies.