Boctol, Balilihan, Bohol is CV’s Best Barangay

Receiving this year’s Most Outstanding Barangay in the Region award, Barangay Boctol of the Municipality of Balilihan in the Province Bohol certainly did not achieve it overnight and here’s how they got the most coveted award:

Barangay Boctol of the municipality of Balilihan, Bohol has, despite it being a largely agricultural community, been facing food consumption problems in the recent times. The Barangay Nutrition Committee (BNC) has found out that more and more families are putting up unhealthy foods in their dinner tables. Call it ease and access or a consequence of modernization, these families have been consuming instant, high sodium, high fat, pre-packed processed food. For young children, this translates to a lack of good nutrition that put them at risk of malnutrition, ill health and thus reducing their chances of reaching their full development.

To arrest such problem, the Boctol BNC has conducted a variety of programs that would purposely address the emerging health and nutrition problems. Regular BNC meetings were conducted by the barangay to identify strategies to address the problem and monitor its implementation. The BNC through their very dedicated BNS closely monitors children’s nutrition status and ensure that pregnant and lactating women are given adequate food too.

A strong behavior change campaign to improve the community’s food consumption was launched using the Pabasa sa Nutrisyon and the BF1KD modules. The nutrition education efforts not only aim to help caregivers understand their roles in maternal and child nutrition but also help them appreciate healthy food and teach them how to prepare it.

The barangay’s success is attributed to the community’s willingness to learn and apply their learnings, the BNC’s efforts to make efficient use of resources in nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive activities and the health and nutrition workers’ tireless monitoring and follow-up of the nutritionally-at-risk children and pregnant and lactating women.