ANGELES CITY — Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr. remains to prioritize the fight against malnourishment, as the city recorded a 63% decrease in the rate of malnourished kids here.
Records from the City Nutrition Office led by Jermaine Jam Aguila revealed that from 1,500 kids classified as malnourished in 2022, the number is down now to just 563.
The city government’s strict implementation of the Operation Timbang (OPT) Plus as ordered by Mayor Lazatin, allowed the barangay nutrition staff and City Nutrition Office to properly identify undernourished kids in the city and provide appropriate intervention programs to boost their nutrition.
This is also in accordance to the guidelines of the National Nutrition Council (NCC)-Central Luzon.
“Hindi po tayo titigil na kumatok sa mga bahay-bahay, hangga’t hindi tayo nakatitiyak na malusog na ang bawat batang Angeleño,” Mayor Lazatin said.
With the data acquired from OPT, Mayor Lazatin in 2022 launched the Pusong Mamon program where malunggay buns were distributed to malnourished Angeleño kids as complement to the then national feeding program.
Chief Adviser IC Calaguas and Executive Assistant IV Reina Manuel spearheaded the production of the nutrition buns which were distributed along with milk supplements.
It can be recalled that Mayor Lazatin started his administration during Nutrition Month 2019 with a campaign to end kids’ nutritional deficiencies with his Oplan Timbang program and went house-to-house in 33 barangays to administer Vitamin A supplements to malnourished children.
