As a strategy, the Barangay Integrated Development Approach for Nutrition Improvement (BIDANI) is a long-term, integrated, and holistic approach in developing and empowering the rural poor in the Philippines. Beyond nutrition, it also takes into consideration agriculture and food security, social services (health, education, family services), livelihood, gender and development, infrastructure, sports and youth development, peace and order, environmental management, and disaster risk reduction and management towards attaining nutrition improvement.
True to its holistic nature, the BIDANI strategy aims to achieve poverty alleviation, good health, food security, and good governance for the general well-being of families and their communities.
- BIDANI uses a systematic and community-based approach of planning involving all actors to prioritize activities
- BIDANI infuses nutrition as an objective, a component, an outcome, and an indicator of development through community advocacy and sharing the responsibility for nutrition
- BIDANI is a holistic, comprehensive, integrated, multi-sectoral strategy which invites concerted efforts among participant-beneficiaries
- BIDANI operates on a bottom-up approach which works on the principle that development plans and programs can only be meaningful and sustainable if they are responsive to and reflective of the actual conditions and needs of the communities, and their development projects/activities are best suited to their needs
Steps in the Implementation of the BIDANI Strategy
Step 1: Social Mobilization
The BIDANI as a strategy, its goals, and objectives are discussed during orientation meetings at the municipal level. Questions arising from the discussion are answered such that the importance of BIDANI as a whole will be internalized by the stakeholders.
Eventually, BIDANI and the municipality concerned come into consensus that the program is a partnership with the academe, which shall then be officially enacted through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). Subsequent action/activities in the implementation of BIDANI strategy at the barangay level will then become a joint effort between the two.
When the interest of the municipality concerned is evident, the organization and training of the Municipal Technical Working Group (MTWG), which also often serves as the Municipal Technical Action Committee (MTAC), is conducted. Members of the MTWG/MTAC are trained on the concept of program planning and implementation using the BIDANI strategy.
After having presented the BIDANI concept to the municipality, priority barangays where the program will be implemented are then selected. BIDANI staff obtain latest data on malnutrition from the Municipal Nutrition Action Officer (MNAO) of from the Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator (MPDC).
Barangays from municipalities with high prevalence of malnutrition having at least 10 or more (second or third degree) malnourished preschoolers, aged 0-6 years old, is the basic criterion in selecting pilot barangays to be covered. Areas which fall under this category are automatically included in the priority barangays.
Step 2: Nutrition and Situational Analysis
To determine the barangay’s state of social, economic, health, nutrition, food security and environmental conditions, a nutrition and situational analysis is conducted to identify the problems of the community.
Part of this analysis is the establishment of the Barangay Management Information System (BMIS) in the community. BMIS is a people-based information system for gathering, organizing, storing, and updating data about the barangay. It serves as the barangay’s data information center for situational diagnosis. Using this system minimizes conflicting data and assures accurate, reliable, and easily retrievable data for program planning. The data being entered in the BMIS come from duly accomplished two-page Family Data Sheets (FDS).
In order to jumpstart the establishment of a barangay’s BMIS, a team led by the barangay chair is organized. The Barangay Council members, together with the Secretary, Barangay Nutrition Scholars, Barangay Health Workers and other volunteer workers, are responsible for collecting/gathering data in the barangay. The Barangay Secretary leads in the encoding of the Family Data Sheets.
A two-day training in data collection is held at the project site. The identified barangay enumerators and municipal focal persons participate in the said training. It is important that the enumerators are well-trained in getting correct and accurate information about the people living in their respective communities. They are taught how to conduct interviews with respondents and how to use the Family Data Sheet questionnaire. The training is also the venue to standardize the enumerators’ understanding of the terminologies used and the procedure to be followed in the survey.
A five-day training on the use of BMIS electronic system and the BMIS software is then conducted. The trainees use the actual data that were collected by the enumerators. Technical backstopping is provided to ensure smooth implementation of the project activities. Technical assistance is also done through e-mail from the start of the encoding to oversee the progress of the project and provide immediate reinforcement in case of any problem/difficulties in data encoding.
The BIDANI staff members, together with the barangay’s focal person, conduct regular field monitoring in the actual encoding and validation of the BMIS software. A total of 5 field visits are planned for the monitoring on the status data collection and encoding to ensure that all the questions are answered properly.
The results of the BMIS are presented during the Training and Action Planning for the PPIC.
Step 3: Training and Action Planning of Program Planning and Implementing Committee (PPIC)
A body composed of political, technical and sectoral leaders in the barangay is organized to provide the leadership in pursuing development projects leading to nutrition improvement and upliftment of the general wellbeing of the community. This body, called the Program Planning and Implementing Committee (PPIC), is an expanded Barangay Development Council. Under the local government set-up, the PPIC/BDC leads in the planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reformulation of the BIDP with the assistance of the Barangay Nutrition Scholar (BNS).
The PPIC consists of the barangay council, heads of the different government and non- government organizations, and representatives of various sectors in the community. There could be as many as seven to 10 core groups engaged in food production, health and nutrition, training and education, infrastructure development, peace and order, spiritual and women development, among others. Each core group may then be composed of five to 10 members.
Members are selected based on their established leadership, willingness to learn and their initiative to participate and work for the improvement of the barangay. Trainings are conducted to complement their technical knowledge and skills to improve the planning, implementation and management of programs in barangay. The PPIC, headed by the barangay captain, represents the barangay residents. The people themselves conceptualize their projects based on the needs of their barangay. This approach operationalizes the Local Government Code’s (LGC) provisions on decentralization.
Part of the implementation of the BIDANI strategy is the formulation of the Barangay Integrated Development Plan (BIDP). The BIDP is an expanded version of the Barangay Development Plan (BDP), a document that barangays are required to craft in accordance with the LGC. It demonstrates and lays down the development initiatives of the barangay. Formulated by the people themselves through a series of workshops, the BIDP embodies community participation in projects, activities, programs, and services. It reflects the vision, needs and aspirations of the villages. Core groups are required to make their annual project plans so that the budget of the barangay will be properly distributed, be able to tap indigenous resources, and link project needs with line agencies and NGOs.
The BIDP also contains the barangay’ situational analysis, prioritized needs and problems, and an operational plan for the projects and activities in the barangay. The draft BIDP is first presented for finalization to the PPIC, then to the municipal government officials and representatives of different agencies and organizations in the barangay. Once the BIDP is approved, it is presented to the barangay residents during an assembly meeting.
For the BIDP to be considered as an official document, it must be legalized through a resolution by the local officials and the different parties involved. Furthermore, the BIDP’s legalization will elicit commitment to strengthen the linkage and cooperation between the barangay people, the municipal and provincial administration towards a successful program implementation. The approval of the BIDP is also tantamount to the recognition of the people’s capability to make their own integrated development programs.
Step 4: Implementation and Monitoring of BIDP and Nutrition Interventions
The BIDP revolves in the following interrelated activities: health and nutrition, agriculture and food security, social services, livelihood and women in development, infrastructure, sports and youth development, peace and order, and environmental management and disaster risk reduction and management.
The PPIC/BDC and the MTAC/MTWG tap government and private agencies for assistance in implementing the barangay projects, thus, helping people to find ways to seek available services and resources for development.
BIDANI also plays an important role in the implementation of projects in the BIDP. Services of the BIDANI staff in the form training for a specific development project in the barangays/villages are also provided.
The strategy also entails the implementation of food and nutrition interventions. These include the production and utilization of the KALINGA mix, development of nutritious recipes, trainings on street food vending and handling, and other nutrition programs relevant to the BIDANI strategy through the Participative Nutrition Enhancement Approach.
Step 5: Assessment and Re-Programming of BIDP
This activity signals the start of another program planning where the next annual BIDP is formulated through reprogramming by the PPIC. The activity also allows the continuity of both short and long term projects which were partly accomplished during the preceding year as well as the launching of new projects in the barangay.
The BIDANI staff and representatives of MTAC/MTWG, together with the PPIC/BDC hold workshop sessions to reformulate the BIDP. Data from BMIS can also be used to validate the BIDP.