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Friday, March 29, 2024

2019 Oplan Kalusugan kicks off in QC

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It takes a village to educate a child, and the Department of Education community will take all measures possible to ensure that Filipinos are given the proper information to ensure better health and nutrition.

After Makati City hosted the 2018 Oplan Kalusugan program launch, the DepEd-National Capital Region, in coordination with the host Division of City Schools-Quezon City, initiated the 2019 Oplan Kalusugan at Ismael Mathay Sr. High School in Project 8, Quezon City on Tuesday.

“Health is basically a Department of Health Concern, but the education arm is with us in DepEd so the children will be informed of made aware of,” said Natividad P. Bayubay, Officer-in-Charge/Schools Division Superintendent of Quezon City.

“With the proper health education, Filipinos don’t even have to set foot in a hospital,” she added.

Bayubay noted the need to “influence the kitchen in every home” as she explained that a massive information drive about the six pillars of the school head and nutrition program of DepEd will greatly benefit schools and society.

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“We can show and prove through this program that we can do something, and these should be shared to every member of the Filipino family,” she told the audience composed of education officials, principals, teachers, students, and barangay representatives and officers.

Dr. Aurea M. Lopez, Chief of the School Health and Nutrition Section of the Quezon City-Schools Division, reminded the audience that prevention is always preferable than cure.

She noted that the OK sa DepEd programs are “for the health and welfare of the youth, all families and communities in general.”

The kickoff featured a parade around the Barangay Sangandaan community, exhibits, an on-the-spot poster making contest, a short program participated in by students, school administrators and barangay officials, and an anti-drug abuse seminar sponsored by the Office of Vice Mayor Gian Sotto with the assistance from Barangay Sangandaan Captain Marivic Hefti.

According to Dr. Maria Eloisa M. Largoza, Medical Officer-III of CD-VI, the OK sa DepEd program is not only a project of Quezon City or the NCR, but of the Department Education throughout the country.

“It is an awareness campaign for all division and regional programs on school health and nutrition. But aside from spreading awareness, hopefully this gets to convince the parents to support all the health programs,” Largoza said.

“This is for the children’s own good. We seek to protect them from parasitism, malnutrition, dengue and other diseases that can be preventable through vaccination, iron-deficiency anemia among others,” she added.

Largoza also said random drug tests will soon be conducted in all schools in Metro Manila as part of the government’s intensified National Drug Education Program.

Other activities included booths featuring health specialists that provided on-the-spot discussions like the Usap Tayo booth on the DepEd’s Mental Health Program (MH101), Adolescent Reproductive Health Program (ARHP), a deworming project (Kontra Bulate) under the Medical/Dental/Nursing Services (MDN), Wash in Schools Program (WinS), school-based feeding program (SBFP) with support from District-VI councilors Roger Juan and Eric Medina, community singing and a zumba performance.

“The OK sa DepEd program brings us one step closer to realizing the vision of having healthy Filipinos,” said Dr. Prescilla R. Gonzaga, Principal-IV of Ismael Mathay Sr. High School.

According to Karen Y. Belagan, coordinator of this year’s OK sa DepEd project launch, Mathay High School was chosen to serve as host of the regional and division kickoff ceremony as it was the Best Implementor of the Soil-Transmitted Helminth Control Program.

“The school is also among the fastest to implement the health programs of the division,” said Belagan.

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