Nutri-program evaluation, monitoring underway in Central Luzon

By Joelyn G. Baluyut

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, July 10 (PIA) -- National Nutrition Council’s (NNC) Monitoring and Evaluation of Local Level Plan Implementation (MELLPI) of nutrition program among the provinces, cities, and municipalities in Central Luzon is now on its last three months of evaluation.

According to outgoing Regional Nutrition Coordinator (RNC) Maria Vicenta Magpantay “MELPPI started last May until September of this year.”

MELLPI is a management tool to assess progress of plan implementation, identify strengths and weaknesses in implementing the program, and institute appropriate corrective measures and facilitate achievement of the plan’s objective.Among its objectives are: to assess the efficiency of local level plan implementation; to measure changes in weight status of preschool and school children during the evaluation year; to determine the extent to which nutrition is integrated into local development plans and programs; and to advocate for the continuing support for local nutrition programs.

Magpantay also said that “the coverage of this includes all provinces and cities that formulated their provincial/city nutrition action plans (P/CNAPs), all municipalities that formulated their municipal nutrition action plans (MNAPs), and Provincial Evaluation Team (PET) identified Outstanding Municipality in the Province will be automatically included among the municipalities to be evaluated by the Regional Nutrition Evaluation Team (RNET).” Meanwhile, NNC also evaluates the performance of the Barangay Nutrition Scholar (BNS).

BNS are the barangay-based volunteers tasked to coordinate the delivery of basic nutrition and related services in their respective area of assignments.

The provision for giving of awards is in the level of National, Regional, and Provincial. And recognition comes in the form of incentives or awards such as the Green Banner Award, Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition (CROWN), Nutrition Honor Award (NHA) and the National Outstanding BNS.

The Green Banner Award (GBA) is given to a municipality, city or province, which has shown very satisfactory performance in implementing its nutrition program. An area awarded the Green Banner

for three consecutive years as outstanding regional winner is automatically awarded the CROWN Award.

For Region 3, the province of Pampanga is the GBA for 2010. While, for the City category, Tarlac City in Tarlac is the GBA from 2009-201. For municipality level, the following are GBA holders: Paombong, Bulacan; Dinalungan, Aurora; Bagac, Bataan; Talavera, Nueva Ecija; Guagua, Pampanga; Anao, Tarlac; and Candelaria, Zambales.

To date, Bulacan Province is vying for 2nd year CROWN Maintenance award; the National Evaluation Team (NET) visited it last June 4-8 and sample municipalities are Bulakan, San Rafael, Balagtas and Doña

Remedios Trinidad. Tarlac City, meanwhile, is on its third year running for RGBA for Crown. Pampanga Province and Paombong, Bulacan are vying for their second year run for RGBA outstanding province and municipality in the region.

The CROWN awardees are then visited by a National Nutrition Evaluation Team for three consecutive years to check whether their efforts in maintaining a downward trend of malnutrition are sustained through a

well-coordinated plan implementation. Recipients of the CROWN Award qualify to vie for the Nutrition Honor Award, the highest award given by NNC to outstanding achievers in nutrition program implementation for another three consecutive years. (CLJD/JGB-PIA3)

LGUs responsible for class suspensions – DepEd

By Joelyn G. Baluyut

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, July 10 (PIA) -- The Department of

Education (DepEd) said local chief executives may implement localized class suspensions or cancellations during weather disturbances in the absence of typhoon signal warnings from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa).

DepEd said that local chief executives, in their capacity as chairpersons of the local disaster councils and in coordination with the national disaster council, may cancel or suspend classes in private and public schools and work in government offices in their

locality through all forms of mass media available under the circumstance.

DepEd Region 3 School Division Superintendent Nicolas Capulong said,“According to DepEd Order No. 43, any decision to cancel or suspend classes must come from the local government.”

“A school head may only cancel or suspend classes in cases where urgent action is needed to prevent loss of life or bodily harm,”Capulong added.

Capulong also said, “LGU officials are expected to announce cancellation or suspension not later than 4:30 a.m. for whole day cancellation or suspension or not later than 11 a.m. for afternoon cancellation or suspension.” (CLJD/JGB-PIA3)

DOH eyes revival of Inter-Local Health Zones in Central Luzon

by: Carlo Lorenzo J. Datu

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga July 4 (PIA) -- Department of Health-Center for Health Development 3 (DOH-CHD 3) is eyeing the revival of all Inter-Local Health Zones (ILHZ) in Central Luzon.

In an interview, DOH-CHD Central Luzon director Leonita Gorgolon explained that “the resurgence of these health zones is one of the key strategies I see that will further our objectives in providing quality health services to our people.”

ILHZs were conceived via Executive Order No. 25 of former president Joseph Ejercito Estrada in 1999.

It is defined by the issuance as any form of organized arrangement for coordinating the operations of an array and hierarchy of health providers and facilities, which typically includes primary health providers, a core referral hospital and an end-referral hospital that is jointly serving a common population within a local geographic area under the jurisdiction of more than one local government.

DOH-CHD 3 started with six pilot ILHZs in the then six provinces of Central Luzon namely Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales.

From 1999 to 2003, a total of 28 ILHZs were established in the region however at this time only two are considered functional- one in Gapan and the other in Guimba.

“The Kalusugan Pangkalahatan of the Aquino administration seeks to achieve three strategic thrusts namely financial risk protection through expansion in National Health Insurance Program and benefit delivery, improved access to quality hospital and health care facilities, and attainment of the health-related Mid-Decade Goals by combining the efforts of DOH, Local Government Units and other stakeholders. Thus with the present status of ILHZs, there is a need to reorganize them to facilitate the implementation as well as attainment of our targets” Gorgolon emphasized. (WLB/CLJD-PIA 3)