Corella MNC continuously empowers its nutrition workers

TAGBILARAN CITY -- The Corella Municipal Nutrition Committee (MNC) continuously equips and empowers its barangay volunteer nutrition workers with capability-building activities this year that include Child Growth Standard (CGS) refresher course and orientation session on the Phil. Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (PIMAM) attended by eight Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS) and 64 Barangay Health Workers (BHWs).

According to the National Nutrition Council (NNC-7), the CGS is a course intended primarily for health care providers who measure and assess the growth of children or who supervise these activities. It teaches the workers how to measure weight, length, and height, how to interpret growth indicators, investigate causes of growth problems and counsel caregivers.

PIMAM on the other hand, is a training that focuses on the implementation and expansion of quality of treatment of children suffering from the most severe and acute forms of undernutrition and develop their skills, knowledge and attitude required to provide quality services for undernourished children, NNC-7 said.

According to Gemma Inquito of the Corella Municipal Nutrition Committee that the BNSs deliver basic nutrition and related services including monitoring of height and weight measurement and nutrition assessment using mid upper arm circumference (MUAC), and in identifying malnourished children in the barangay. They are assisted by the BHW and other members of the Barangay Nutrition Committee.

Committee on Health Maria Asuncion Daquio, in her message, emphasized that health and nutrition workers should have the essential skills and knowledge to do the tasks expected of them.

Part of the training and orientation was going through the basic steps on how to identify malnourished children, demonstration and return demonstration on weight, height, and MUAC measurement.

Interpreting growth indicators and plotting of growth charts and role play as a counselor and as a mother; information on how to identify severe and acute cases were also included in the sessions and more information on how to acquaint them on food commodities to give and introducing the forms to be used in the treatment of the patients. (Photos: NNC7/Sarah Belle Bitasolo)