Single parents and women without work whose kids are underweight and severely underweight are the first on the list of residents for livelihood aid this year, Mayor Eva Marie Medina said. Medina noted the prevalence of malnutrition of pre-school children from 2011 to 2014, although the malnutrition rate is decreasing, from 3.88 percent in 2011 to 2.52 percent this year.
Dr. Loida Ranches, city health officer, said that the assessment of city kids showed that 60.42 percent of mothers with severely underweight kids are not employed. Most of parents with severly underweight kids are high school graduates while nine single parents of 140 families are with severely or underweight kids this year. Six of them are not employed.
The city government’s livelihood program called “Pagsapulan, Raniag Ti Masakbayan” (Jobs, Light of the Future) gives various forms of livelihood such as raising chicken, Peking ducks, quail, cattle, carabao, goat, sheep; street vending of veggies, meat, fish, street foods; carinderia, sari-sari store; rice retailing, operating tricycle or calesa. It also gives trainings for various skills complete with kits such as electronics repair, pedicure, manicure, hair styling, cooking, handicrafts. Seeds and planting materials will be given to families with underweight and severely underweight children to start their own home gardens.
To help answer problems of malnourished residents, particularly the obese, the Sangguniang Panlungsod will draft an ordinance for barangays to conduct Hataw Barangay (physical exercise or aerobics in the 39 barangays of the city).
The city government is focused on keeping its residents healthy and well nourished through its program in nutrition. In the first week of June the national evaluators assessed the city for its second year maintenance of Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition (CROWN).
The city boasts of a good nutrition program which include home and community food production (White onion production, and hydrophonic greenhouse in Barangay Ayusan Sur), livelihood trainings and assistance, maternal and child health services, micronutrient supplementation, food assistance (Busog, Lusog, Talino Feeding Program, supplementary feeding program in day care centers).//PIA-Vigan