The Local Government Unit of Gutalac, Zamboanga del Norte (LGU-Gutalac), through the Municipal Social Welfare Development Office in coordination with the Municipal Nutrition Office, successfully conducted a 2-day "Nutrition Program Management Training and Seminar for Barangay Nutrition Scholars" last January 24-25, 2022. The training was participated by 33 Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNSs) in the said municipality. It was facilitated by the newly appointed Municipal Nutrition Action Officer Ms. Mishera L. Suana together with the two NDDPs resource speakers from the Department of Health Region IX, Ms. Dannifa Jane D. Tabaloc and Ms. Dianna Faye S. Polinar.
The Nutrition Program Management Training for Barangay Nutrition Scholars aims to strengthen the capacity and enhance the skills of BNSs’ in the delivery of nutrition services in the community. The NPM course was designed to teach local nutrition workers, members of the local nutrition committees, and other stakeholders how to effectively plan, implement, monitor, evaluate, and sustain nutrition programs, in the context of the overall local governance and development system. The training consists of five modules that cover various lessons to enhance your knowledge and skills in the area of local NPM and strengthen their core values as nutrition workers.
Topics discussed in the NPM training include Overview of the Training Course Guidelines, Module 1-The Barangay Nutrition Scholar Program; Module 2-Basic Concept on Food and Nutrition; Module 3-Developing Skills of BNS; Module 4- Situating the Barangay Nutrition Program in the Local Development System, Module 5- The BNS in Action, Roll-out Training in Management of Philippine Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (PIMAM), Orientation on OPT 2022 and Training on Family MUAC on Barangay Level. The facilitators also conducted a pre-test, post-test, and evaluation to the Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNSs).
The LGU-Gutalac, headed by the Municipal Mayor Hon. Onesimo L. Coma Jr. with the support of RSW OIC- Municipal Social Welfare Development Officer Ms. Margie A. Maratas and newly appointed Municipal Nutrition Action Officer of Ms. Mishera L. Suana and other sectors were committed to working together just to end all forms of malnutrition through scaling up nutrition interventions and supporting capacity development for community health workers in the municipality. Capacity building is required among the nutrition and health workforce, policymakers, and workers in other sectors because the causes of nutrition problems are multifactorial and require collaboration across sectors to yield effective solutions.
-PNFP Rowence F. Zorilla
