Prosperidad, ADS– As part of the nutrition surveillance function of the National Nutrition Council, a Program Implementation Review (PIR) on Local Nutrition Early Warning System on Food and Nutrition Security (LNEWS-FNS) was conducted by National Nutrition Council Caraga in the month of June this year.  

The areas included in the activity were the municipalities of San Francisco and Talacogon of the Province of Agusan del Sur.

In the assessment of LNEWS-FNS implementation process, it was revealed that plotting and announcement of LNEWS-FNS schedules during the Barangay Nutrition Committee (BNC) meeting facilitated the data collection. Hence, the involvement of BNC members also paved way for the involvement of Purok leaders, kagawad, midwife/s, nurse/s, day care workers and volunteer health workers in data gathering, validation, analysis and consolidation.

The data gathered in the LNEWS-FNS served as a basis in food security and in nutrition planning by identifying the priority areas and groups. Prioritization of program beneficiaries among malnourished children was made easier as it includes information on food and nutrition security status of the household.

Programs and activities included are feeding programs, seeds and seedling distribution, Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) distribution and other nutrition programs.

It also enables the Municipal Government to identify and refer household to be prioritized to different programs. An example of it is the provision of wheelchair by the barangay to the disabled father identified during EWS monitoring.

Moreover, it ensures the enrollment of some beneficiaries in TUPAD (Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced workers) Program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and USAID/ Cash for work of the province.

On the other hand, the Municipalities of San Francisco and Talacogon provides logistic support to the data collectors with the help of Muncipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management (MDRRM). Some of this support includes cooking utensils, umbrellas and boots in case of rain or flood.

LNEWS-PIR was conducted to determine the factors affecting the implementation of the LNEWS-Food and Nutrition Security (LNEWS-FNS) and to immediately address any challenges encountered by the LGUs and to document successes or best practices of LGUs along its establishment, implementation and use.#DMOMPRayco