National Micronutrient Training Module and Job Aid for Village Volunteers

From Cambodia's National Nutrition Program (NNP)'s National Maternal and Child Health Centre, this module and job aid are designed to facilitate provision of training to village volunteers on good nutrition practices, including infant and young child feeding (IYCF), the role of micronutrients, counselling to prevent maternal and child anaemia, how to assist in the preparation of vitamin A rounds, and how to test salt for iodine levels. Health centre (HC) staff members who have been trained in the use of participatory methodologies are responsible for training and follow up with the village volunteers.

The content, methodologies, and job aids of the micronutrient module of the community-based Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) package was revised in 2008-2009. The main changes made were:

• Active learning methods replaced lectures.
• Games, jokes, and stories are used to create a conducive learning environment.
• It was clarified that volunteers should receive regular follow-up after training and participate in peer meetings to exchange experiences and build on learning.
• Introduction of job aids and simple text during the training are mean to help volunteers communicate the messages in their communities.

The training module takes 2 days; each day is 6.5 training hours. Participants receive a job aid - "Village Volunteer Nutrition Job Aid How to Help Mothers and Young Children Stay Healthy". Throughout the training, the participants practice providing counselling and health education using the job aid.

Technical support for this module and job aid was provided by A2Z: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Micronutrient and Child Blindness Project, which began work in Cambodia in October 2006 to strengthen national nutrition capacity, facilitate the scale-up of nutrition interventions, and develop monitoring, reporting, and other information systems that help ensure quality services in government-led vitamin A supplementation, maternal and child anaemia prevention, and other micronutrient intervention areas. To access the full series of guidelines, tools, and training materials produced by A2Z in conjunction with Cambodia's NNP and other partners, click here.