SOCCSKSARGEN—National Nutrition Council XII disseminates among LGUs the interim guidelines in preparation for the conduct of Operation Timbang (OPT) Plus along with the activities on Nutrition Screening, Growth Monitoring and Promotion (GMP) in the context of the on-going pandemic and other related disasters. As per this issuance, the above activities are still to be done during health facility visits, community outreach and if the situation allows, strict observance of infection prevention and control (IPC) measures.
The Department of Health also suggests the use of Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) tapes thru Department Memorandum 2020-0237, instead of the weight and height measuring tools to reduce physical contact of health care providers to children as an adaptation to the new normal situation. However, it is also stipulated in the guidelines that in the absence or insufficiency of MUAC tapes, LGUs may refer to the key considerations for in-person interactions during the data collection as cited by the Global Nutrition Cluster. LGUS may also continue with the traditional process of OPT Plus while ensuring health and safety protocols including the appropriate disinfection of anthropometric tools.
The guidelines also provide a decision tree for the LGUs on the conduct of OPT plus, nutrition screening and growth monitoring as well as other promotion activities to determine the method of measurement, tools for measurement, recording and reporting.
The OPT Plus is an anticipated yearly activity of weighing and height measurement of all preschoolers from 0-59 months old (below five years old) in a community to identify malnourished children. In addition, data generated from the OPT Plus will be utilized for nutrition action planning and identifying priority interventions in the community.
As the pandemic continue to affect many families, NNC calls for the continuity of taking action to protect the nutritional status of the most vulnerable groups including pregnant women and children, while implementing appropriate infection prevention control measures. Furthermore, full copy of the memorandum can be accessed thru this link:
https://www.nnc.gov.ph/component/phocadownload/category/6-region-12-policies-plans-activities
(by: DPA/AMF/NPC)
