Bidani Network Program

The Barangay Integrated Development Approach for Nutrition Improvement (BIDANI) Network Program, housed at the Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Human Ecology, aims to promote nutrition-in-development through the participation of the community and other stakeholders in an integrated management system facilitated by extension programs of state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the country. BIDANI has three main strategies:[1] Barangay Integrated Development Approach: empowering local leaders in formulating their development initiatives, including planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation;[2] Barangay Management Information System: needs assessment in the barangays for nutrition and development and e-governance through the BMIS electronic system; and [3] Participative Nutrition Enrichment Approach: using participatory methods in improving the health of 0-24 month olds through the life cycle approach. BIDANI traces its roots in 1978, the year when the Nutrition Improvement Model (NIM) was launched. NIM was an action research program supported by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), National Nutrition Council (NNC), and National Science and Technology Authority (NSTA) aiming to accelerate improved nutrition in the rural Philippines. The BIDANI Network Program was launched in 1985, with five state universities and colleges (SUCs) implementing the BIDANI strategy. The network currently covers 12 SUCs serving 790 villages in eight cities and 29 municipalities, in 12 provinces, in seven regions.