About 500 village officials and members of the Barangay Nutrition Committees (BNCs) in Central Luzon convened virtually to discuss about nutrition devolution.
The webinar entitled “Regional Dialogue for Punong Barangays: Enabling Nutrition Devolution” primarily aims to explain to the participants the implications of the Mandanas-Garcia ruling on nutrition program management at the barangay level.
National Nutrition Council (NNC) Central Luzon Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator Ana Maria Rosaldo said this aims to advocate among barangay captains for increased investment in nutrition programs, especially that with the implementation of full devolution in 2022, barangays will have a 38 percent increase in their budget.
“Low or limited budget for nutrition at the barangay level is a recurring concern among barangays because nutrition is primarily perceived as food or feeding-related activities for children alone. With the additional funding that barangays will get, we hope that they can implement more nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programs to address the triple burden of stunting, underweight, and overweight in their communities,” she said.
Citing the crucial role that barangays play in achieving the targets of the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) 2017-2022, the director added that there is also a need to articulate the increased recognition of the PPAN and its connection to barangay nutrition action plans (BNAPs).
“With this dialogue, we want to deepen the awareness of PPAN in the barangay, explain the roles and responsibilities of BNC members in the achievement of BNAP and PPAN targets, and expand contact points for investment in nutrition,” she said.
Rosaldo added that dialogue will also provide an avenue for the participants to assess the nutrition program management situation in their barangay, identify priority actions, and list support needed to further mobilize the BNCs for nutrition improvement.
This also provides an opportunity for them to share their best practices on managing nutrition programs that barangays can apply in their respective area of jurisdiction.
The two-day activity also includes technical session on the priority PPAN interventions for implementation at the barangay levels, as well as how barangays can budget nutrition interventions once the full devolution is implemented.
This is in partnership with the DILG, Department of Budget and Management, Liga ng mga Barangay, Sangguniang Kabataan, and other RNC members in the region. (CLJD/MJSC-PIA 3)