BONTOC, Mountain Province – Twenty-one health workers in this capital town underwent a four-day Training of Trainers on the Basic Course for Barangay Nutrition Scholars on April 4-7, 2022, at Samoki, Bontoc, Mountain Province.
The participants were Municipal Health Officer Dr. Diga Kay Gomez, Municipal Nutrition Action Officer Venous Faith Cofulan, midwives in the 16 barangays of Bontoc, the Barangay Health Worker Coordinator, and barangay nutrition scholars (BNS).
According to Cofulan, the training aimed to capacitate the BNS to effectively deliver nutrition services and other related activities on community health, backyard food production, environmental sanitation, culture, mental feeding, and family planning.
Bontoc Mayor Franklin Odsey, who also chairs the Municipal Nutrition Council (MNC), immediately approved the training proposal funded by the municipal government under its Nutrition Program and Gender and Development Fund, recognizing the need to enhance the knowledge of the health workers and develop their skills on health and nutrition especially that they are the frontliners in the delivery of basic health services to the community.
As its counterpart, the National Nutrition Council – Cordillera Administrative Region (NNC-CAR) provided the resource speakers including the Officer In Charge Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator Bella Basalong, nutrition officers Velanie Dao-ines, and Perlyne Martin. Lilia Angagka,, a midwife of the Bontoc Municipal Health Office, was also tapped as a resource speaker.
Module 1 covered Legal Mandates and Rationale of the BNS; Selection, Recruitment, Benefits, and Incentives of a BNS; Roles and Function of a BNS; and Core Values of a BNS respectively.
Module 2 was on the topics of Basic Concepts on Food and Nutrition; Understanding Food and Nutrition Concepts; and Malnutrition: Forms, Causes, and Consequences.
Module 3 focused on Developing Skills of the BNS with seven sessions namely: Communication Skills; Presentation Skills; Advocacy Skills; Documentation, Report Writing, and Record-Keeping; Time Management; Organization Skills; and Coordinating Skills.
Module 4 was on Situating the Barangay Nutrition Program in the Local Development System with three sessions to include Nutrition Program Management: Definition, Principles, Characteristics, and Uses; The Barangay Nutrition Program in the Local Development System; and the BNC: Organize, Mobilize or Reactivate.
Module 5 included the topics on the Role of BNS in Barangay Nutrition Program Management; The BNS in Assessing the Barangay Nutrition Situation; The BNS in Planning; The BNS in Implementation; and the BNS in Monitoring and Evaluation.
Considering that the training involved lecture, hands-on demonstration, and workshop, Module 6 highlighted the Basic Course for BNS: A Synthesis. It covered the synthesis of the Basic Course for BNS Training; Presentation of the Re-entry Plan; Post-test and the Overall Training Evaluation.
Meanwhile, a BNS expressed her gratitude to the municipal government through the Municipal Health Office and the NNC-CAR for the opportunity of undergoing the said training. She mentioned that this kind of training is equally important for them to effectively perform their roles and functions, and eventually become well-versed in nutrition program management.
