MHO/MNAO Dr. Lenel Cathlyn B. Mahinay (standing) during the first quarter Barangay Nutrition Committee meeting in Barangay Aniniaw, La Libertad
La Libertad, Negros Oriental – The Municipal Nutrition Committee (MNC) of La Libertad through the Rural health Unit led by the Municipal Health Officer/Municipal Nutrition Action Officer Dr. Lenel Cathlyn B. Mahinay conducted a reorganization of Barangay Nutrition Committees (BNC) in the whole town.
All twenty-nine barangays in the municipality have an organized Barangay Nutrition Committees (BNCs) and it is once again the season to reorganize the said BNCs since there are new set of elected barangay officials from the recently concluded 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections. This is a recurring activity of the MNC every after elections.
The BNC, the policy making and coordinating body on nutrition in the barangay is tasked to plan, implement, monitor, evaluate, and coordinate the Barangay Nutrition Acton Plan (BNAP). The said committee also functions to coordinate the nutrition activities of the barangay, organizes groups to implement nutrition interventions, assess progress of nutrition interventions, and holds regular quarterly meetings to monitor nutrition program performance. It is also their responsibility to assess and monitor the nutritional status of the vulnerable groups such as 0–59-month-old children, pregnant and lactating women, and to submit accomplishment reports to the MNC based on their monitoring and evaluation activity to improve the quality of nutrition in their barangay.
During the reorganization sessions, the Barangay Captains as BNC Chairmen of BNCs were also oriented/reoriented on their roles and functions to ensure that said committees are functional and can perform their mandate in the management of barangay nutrition program.
With the newly elected chair and members of the BNC fully aware of their role and responsibilities, the BNC can surely achieve its desired nutrition outcome of solving the malnutrition problem of their respective barangays.