scholarly journals Operationalizing local children nutrition surveillance system: The Philippines' Operation Timbang revisiited, the case of Abra de Ilog

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 86-98
Author(s):  
Ma. Anna Rita Marfil Ramirez ◽  
Rowena V. Viajar ◽  
Glenda P. Azaña

Background: Malnutrition among Filipino children persists; underscoring the value of nutritional assessment procedures. In the Philippines, this is carried out at the local level in its annual Operation Timbang [weigh] (OPT or OPT Plus). Local government unit officials observed higher malnutrition prevalence rates in nutrition survey reports of the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) compared with its OPT. A revisit of the OPT provided evidence on the comparability of the two data sets and sources of variance analyzed. Objectives: 1) describe municipal level assessment of OPT in 10 barangays of Abra de Ilog municipality; 2) identify facilitating and hindering factors in OPT; and 3) compare OPT results with DOST-FNRI local nutrition survey in Abra de Ilog and identify potential sources of variance therefrom.  Methods: Primary data were collected using focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Height and weight data were collected using standard methods of anthropometry. Results: The OPT/OPT Plus is the mass weighing of 0-71 months old children, including height measurements conducted during the first and fourth quarter of the year in Abra de Ilog. It was found that facilitating factors were availability of calibrated equipment, latest master list, local government support and budget. Lack of manpower, work overload, low honoraria, low work commitment, uncooperative mothers and high turnover of barangay [village] nutrition scholars hindered OPT implementation. The Abra de Ilog 2016 OPT Plus and the 4th quarter “OPT” reported lower malnutrition prevalence rates than the DOST-FNRI local survey. Conclusions:  Significant differences in the two data sets could misguide program implementation. As an outcome of Sustainable Development Goal No. 2 of Zero Hunger, potential misclassification of nutritional status and misreporting of malnutrition prevalence rates have implications for the mapping of malnutrition, hence delivery of targeted nutrition intervention packages.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan M. Pulhin ◽  
Maricel A. Tapia-Villamayor ◽  
Catherine L. de Luna ◽  
Rex Victor O. Cruz ◽  
Aileen S. Peria ◽  
...  

Climate Disaster Risk Assessment (CDRA) and Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP) provide the scientific and legal platform for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the Philippines. This APN CAPaBLE project responds to the limited technical capacity of local government units (LGUs) to comply with this requirement through collaborative capacity building. Evaluation of CDRA and LCCAP led to a National Interagency Technical and Policy Forum to formulate action plans and fast-track preparations. The initial stage of the project demonstrated collaborative advantage as a condition for mobilizing human and financial resources was enabled. Collaborative inertia set in once the technical limitations of Aurora LGUs surfaced to complete the CDRA. This mirrored the results of the institutional capacity survey, administered to 87 disaster risk reduction and management Technical Working Group (TWG) members, highlighting the LGUs limitations in data availability and functional knowledge on climate change. Thus, a shift in capacity building strategy through focused mentoring and managing LGU expectations was done. The Aurora LGUs successfully completed its CDRA and LCCAP requirements through a lengthy and arduous process. It was acknowledged that CDRA preparation has a steep learning curve and competes heavily with other multiple functions and pressing demands from the LGUs. The national interagency forum resolution suggested that the CDRA be assigned to another government agency while LGUs shift capacity development initiatives to understanding and mainstreaming scientific assessment into local plans. The project experience highlights the difficult, yet promising, path to human security development and resilience building and underscored prudence and urgency of adaptation planning at the local level.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-128
Author(s):  
Krishna Man Pradhan

Is it local government or local level unit of provincial and federal level governments? The constitution is still unclear. The constitution has not any provision of opposition party but it has executive, legislative and judiciary power allocation system of the organs of a government. To explore the vision and practice of local governance in Nepal, the study has been conducted. The methodology consists of analyzing primary and secondary sources. Primary data have been collected through field discussions with the stakeholders. Regarding the local governance various recommendations are presented in conclusion.


Author(s):  
Issah Justice Musah-Surugu ◽  
Emmanuel Yeboah-Assiamah

Decentralisation and local governance aim at local economic development, but collaboration among key actors at the local level is essential in realising this objective. However, at district assembly level Ghana exhibits problematic conflicts between district chief executives (DCEs), who head the executive committee, and presiding members (PMs) who convene and preside over assembly deliberations, acting as speaker. This study aims to unpack the main causes of such unsavoury conflicts by using 13 case studies from the Ashanti Region. Both primary and secondary data were collected for the study. Primary data was gathered from a selection of 40 key informants drawn from three main groups including DCEs, PMs, and other stakeholders such as regional coordinating council members, assembly members and chiefs. The main research instrument was one-on-one in-depth interviews with participants. The study found deep-seated conflicts between DCEs and PMs, in some cases even transcending these two actors to involve a greater section of actors within the local government administration. The study noted that professional bureaucrats within the local government service are affected when allegations of affiliation are levelled against them. The study also found that the legal status of DCEs and PMs appears to be the main driver of potential conflict, although other context-specific issues were also prevalent.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 265-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Maynard ◽  
Elizabeth Parker ◽  
Rahayu Yoseph-Paulus ◽  
David Garcia

This paper describes research investigating UN-Habitat’s experience supporting communities and local government to undertake urban planning following humanitarian crises. Two case studies were examined: Banda Aceh, Indonesia, following the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in 2004; and Tacloban, the Philippines, following Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. The study found that urban planning following humanitarian crises can empower communities and governments to manage their own recovery. However, they may lack the knowledge, experience, time, tools or technology needed to take the lead. Organizations supporting urban communities and local government to undertake urban planning following humanitarian crises should consider: the most appropriate speed, scale and depth of the intervention given the context and their own funding and capacity; building local government capacity through secondments or partnerships; establishing a recovery and reconstruction planning task force; appropriate strategies for working with affected communities and their leaders; and advocating for national government support.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer G. Manalo

The local government units in the Philippines are at the forefront of disaster management including responding to the impacts of climate change. With the necessity to address this problem, this study aimed to determine the initiatives of the local government units (LGUs) in Batangas on climate change. The study made use of descriptive research which involved quantitative and qualitative methods in gathering data. Research triangulation was used. The subjects of the study were the Disaster Risk Reduction Management and planning officers of three component cities and twenty-seven municipalities of Batangas. Frequency counts, percentages, and average weighted mean were used in the statistical analysis of data. Results of the study revealed that LGUs in Batangas comply with the provisions of Republic Act No. 10121, otherwise known as Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010. LGUs to organize disaster risk reduction and management councils at the local level. Likewise, cities and municipalities of Batangas implement policies through local ordinances to adopt and strengthen RA 9003. They are implementing initiatives that encourage businesses to promote climate-smart services and practices. Assessment of farming practices, extension services and linkages with GOs, NGOs and other agencies in the implementation of climate change initiatives needs to be improved.


Author(s):  
Shamsinar Rahman ◽  
Hardev Kaur Latchimanan Singh ◽  
Zaliha Hussin ◽  
Zulkifli Baharuddin

Objective - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relationship between the assessment tax system and tax arrears in Melaka Historic City Council, Malacca, Malaysia. (Local Government) Methodology/Technique - Method used is quantitative method. With population sample of 484 885 residents (N=484,885) and a sample size of 384 residents (n=384), the instrument used to collect primary data is questionnaire. The data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Findings - With accuracy r= .141, p< .001, showed that the relationship was moderate and highly significant. This tells us that the inadequacies in the tax system are one of the contributing factors towards high assessment tax arrears in Melaka Historic City Council. Novelty - Although the issue of tax arrears in Malaysia is not a new phenomenon. However this paper specifically focuses on the issues of assessment tax at the local level, which in this case refers to the Melaka Historic City Council. Type of Paper - Empirical Keywords : Assessment tax; Arrears; Local Government; Local autonomy; Malaysia.


Author(s):  
Jummai Othniel Yila ◽  
Bernadette P. Resurreccion

Purpose – This paper aims at understanding how smallholder farmers are adapting to drought and what shapes their vulnerabilities and ability to adapt. Considering that their capacity to adapt to climate change has been undermined not only by the natural vulnerabilities due to their geographic location but also by the social context, gender and institution that interact to influence and determine household and individual vulnerability and responses to drought. Design/methodology/approach – Both primary and secondary data were used. Primary data were collected by use of structured questionnaires from 128 male-headed households and 122 female-headed households in eight villages in the Nguru Local Government Area, as well as from key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Findings – Climate change is not a concept recognized by most farmers and does not have standard translation in the local language; farmers believe the term refers to change in weather. Drought and crop failure are causing despair and frustration, and farmers reported that they are struggling to adapt. The resources and support inputs required for responding to climate change and variability are socially differentiated by gender, women’s and men’s responses to drought impacts as well as their access to adaptation resources and support differ significantly. Women are in particular unable to access the favored adaptation strategies promoted by Yobe State Agricultural Development Programme as a government support institution assigned with the responsibility of helping farm households adapt to climate change in ways that will increase their adaptive capacity. Originality/value – These findings are essential for informing policy decisions by ensuring that the experiences of both women and men and the context in which they operate are embedded into policy design.


1969 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 149-176
Author(s):  
Sim Carlo Jesuel L. Arriola ◽  
Aljon G. Pangan ◽  
Harvey Leo M. Romano

Today, Batangas is one of the only provinces in the Philippines, who have implemented the Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) program successfully alongside with Bataan and Guimaras. It is a mechanism to increase the efficiency of coastal governance in terms of its ability to achieve sustainable use of coastal resources. The Local Government Code of the Philippines encourages cooperative mechanisms and partnerships among stakeholders at the local level. Furthermore, different sectors and stakeholders, from international, national, and local levels, have contributed to the implementation of the program. The Local Government Units (LGUs) of Batangas are among the key actors in the implementation of the program. Using the Model of Collaborative Governance (Ansell & Gash, 2007), and Common Pool Resource Theory (Ostrom, 1990), this paper reveals that the inter-local collaboration of Batangas City and 14 coastal municipalities of Batangas province as regards the successful implementation of the ICM program in their province is effective based on the Critical Ingredients for Effective Inter-Local Government Unit (LGU) Cooperation, which was formulated by the Philippine Development Forum Working Group on Decentralization and Local Government's Sub-Working Group on Inter-Local Cooperation. A qualitative approach was used in this research, through the descriptive method following an evaluative design. As such, this research caters contributions to the field of political science, both theoretically and practically by applying the aforementioned theories, and by exemplifying the interactions of the LGUs of Batangas in fulfilling the goals of the ICM program as a successful model which could be adopted by other LGUs in the country.


2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 481-492
Author(s):  
Ferdinand Bulusan ◽  
Eva Marie ◽  
Jeng Jeng

<p style="text-align: justify;">Shortly after the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic began, studies on the challenges faced by tertiary students during Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) became available. However, the data sets were harvested early, as many countries began implementing ERT in response to the pandemic in March 2020. Many recent studies have failed to distinguish between the challenges faced by students enrolled in the laboratory and non-laboratory courses. There is still a dearth of literature on the difficulties encountered by students enrolled in non-laboratory courses following the first year of ERT implementation. The purpose of this paper was to examine the various challenges faced by tertiary students enrolled in non-laboratory courses following the conclusion of the first year of ERT implementation. Contextualized in two state-owned higher education institutions in northern Luzon, this study employed a fundamental qualitative approach, with focus group discussions (FGDs) serving as the primary data collection technique. Five major themes emerged from the FGDs with 42 purposively selected tertiary students. These themes presented in the spider web illustration include (1) student-focused challenges, (2) instructional material-related challenges, (3) instructor-emanating challenges, (4) technology-related challenges, and (5) student support-related challenges. This article concludes that these issues must be dealt with immediately to facilitate the implementation of ERT in non-laboratory courses. These difficulties may also be dimensions of concerns about distance education, particularly in non-urban areas of the Philippines. The themes also provide some actual pictures of the student challenges in the initial year of ERT in college. This paper highlighted some implications for pedagogy and educational management, as well as future research directions.</p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wati Hermawati ◽  
Ishelina Rosaira

<p>This paper is an exploratory study on renewable energy implementation in the rural areas of Indonesia. The study aim was to investigate the factors contributing to the sustainability of renewable energy projects in the rural areas. It mostly uses a qualitative approach. Primary data was mainly obtained from in-depth interviews conducted in site areas with the project owners, project managers, a key person in each local government, industry representatives, and the local community, including local leaders and users of renewable energy. Secondary data in the form of various official project reports was also used. The results indicated that the success of energy project implementation lay not only in good technology performance and long-term maintenance, but was also highly dependent on six key factors, namely: (1) project planning and development; (2) community participation; (3) active communication and beneficiaries; (4) availability of maintenance program, workshop and technician; (5) project management and institutionalization; (6) local government support and networks. The findings from this study provide useful insights to all stakeholders involved in the implementation of renewable energy technology for the rural areas in Indonesia.</p>


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