United Nations for Children Foundation (UNICEF) together with National Nutrition Council 8 (NNC) capacitated the health and nutrition workers of the UNICEF project sites in Samar Province on the use of Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Checklist Record1, held on January 16-17, 2020 at Summit Hotel, Tacloban City.

One of the key strategies in the implementation of ECCD for First 1000 Days program is the monitoring of child’s growth and development using the ECCD Checklist Record 1 tool for children aged 0 months to 3 years old.

This training was designed for the key health and nutrition workers of the community such as: health officer, nutrition action officer, public health nurse, rural health midwife, nutritionist dietitian, and president of the barangay nutrition scholars (BNSs) or barangay health workers (BHWs).

Through this tool, service providers can easily determine the progress of child’s development and determine if one is at risk for developmental delays. The seven (7) developmental domains were the key indicators used for the assessment, namely: gross motor, fine motor, self-help, receptive language, expressive language, cognitive and social-emotional. However, this tool is not intended for making medical diagnosis nor determining child’s intelligence quotient or level of academic excellence but rather determine the risks of developmental delays so that early intervention will be provided. UNICEF Specialist, Dr. Ma. Bella Ponferrada introduced also the Nurturing Care Framework for Early Childhood Development as a tool to initially assess the child’s risk for developmental concerns through its five (5) components: good health, adequate nutrition, responsive caregiving, security and safety, and opportunities for early learning. Likewise, she reintroduced also the tool for quick identification of red flags in child’s development, “Ang mga maagang pamamaraan ng pagsuri sa bata” that is found in the Mother and Child Book with six areas of assessment: hearing, seeing, talking, understanding, playing and moving.

There were forty-five (45) participants trained from the seven municipal project sites in the Province of Samar for the implementation of nutrition programs, namely: Tarangnan, Gandara, Pagsanghan, San Jose de Buan, Sta. Margarita, Catbalogan City, and Calbayog City. Technical assistance was provided by UNICEF, Specialist Dr. Ma. Bella Ponferrada, including NNC8 ECCD F1K Provincial Coordinator Jennibeth Canete, NNC Nutrition Officer II Ullasini Pangan and Child Development Specialist Dr. Sherly Palami. #UJPangan