31 May 2022, Cagayan de Oro City – As the Tutok Kainan Dietary Supplementation Program (TK DSP) prepares to roll out in Lanao del Norte Province, the National Nutrition Council (NNC) X continues its social preparations.

Provincial Nutrition Focal Point (PNFP) Lizelle L. Bete conducted another session of TK DSP and SMS Reporting System orientation to program recipient barangays of the municipalities of Sultan Naga Dimaporo and Kolambugan last 19-20 May 2022 and in municipalities of Kapatagan and Tubod last 26-27 May 2022.

The meeting was attended by the Municipal Nutrition Action Officers (MNAOs), Punong Barangays, Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNSs), Barangay Health Workers (BHWs), and nutrition workers from the municipalities visited.

PNFP Bete delivered program updates, guidelines, and social preparatory requirements to target barangay beneficiaries during the orientation, with the goal of providing dietary supplementation to stunted and wasted children aged 6-23 months in order to reduce the pandemic's impact on vulnerable groups' nutrition.

From the receipt of dry and wet commodities in the municipality to the delivery of foodstuffs to beneficiaries aged 6-23 months at the barangay level, as well as their monthly nutritional status report, PNFP Bete detailed the monitoring and reporting protocols for the program's SMS reporting system. Initial information was communicated with the BNSs and personnel present during the meeting as the online SMS reporting system for Phases 3 and 4 was being finished, and future updates will be relayed.

Plans and strategies for preparing a community kitchen and storage facility for both dry and wet feeding for the 6-month implementation period were also discussed during the meeting. In each of the municipalities visited, further planning will be considered.

NNC X will continue to support program implementers in Lanao del Norte Province as the program proceeds. (PNFP Lizelle Bete)