BAUANG, La Union, March 13 (Ms. Anne Hazel Flores, PIA) — With the aim to examine and appraise the progress of the implementation of the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN), the National Nutrition Council Regional Office 1 (NNC-1) rolls-out the new Monitoring and Evaluation of Local Level Plan Implementation (MELLPI) Protocol during the Training of Trainers held from March 6 to 7, here.

According to NNC-1, this new tool will serve as an upgraded system to determine nutrition improvement action at the local level and its progress in achieving reduction of wasting, stunting and overweight among children.

Further, this will also measure the quantity and quality of the performance of nutrition workers in the region.

The plenary sessions, simulation exercises, and hands-on workshop trained some 30 participants from the local government units (LGUs) and regional line agencies (RLAs) on the components and features of the MELLPI Pro, the steps and procedures, its electronic tools, and interpretation of the report and results.

“We have to familiarize ourselves with the new implement due to its technicalities, but eventually, it will be easier as we regularly use it,” said NNC-1 nutrition program coordinator Ma. Eileen B. Blanco during the activity.

Moreover, the MELLPI Pro shall emphasize the assessment of the LGU’s progress towards compliance to quality standards, evidence-based validation and mentoring through joint discussion for learning and action discussion with the LGU or nutrition workers assessed.

The new instrument conceptualized in 2015 was tested in the field through the NNC-University of the Philippines Los Baños Project: “Field Trial of the Updated Monitoring and Evaluation Protocol for Local Government and Nutrition Workers” and confirmed the ability of the tool to generate reliable and meaningful result assessment.

During the sharing of experiences, the participants expressed their approval of using the new tool as it is simpler and easier way of monitoring and evaluating nutrition program implementation.

“Our agency appreciates the support of our LGUs and RLAs in this activity, and we hope that through this innovation, we will continue to unite and fight against malnutrition in our region,” added Blanco.

The new system endorsed to the NNC regional offices on November 2018 replaced the manual MELLPI Tool which was used from the early 80’s with only efficiency and effectiveness criteria. (JNPD/AHFF/PIA-1)