Oh My Gulay! program to be launched in public schools

A program aimed at overcoming malnutrition primarily among underprivileged children, particularly pre-school and elementary school children, will be launched on Friday, Feb. 11, by its primary advocate, Sen. Edgardo Angara. Called “Oh My Gulay!” (OMG), the program will encourage families to plant and eat vegetables, and be more concerned with nutrition. OMG will get schools to plant vegetables in gardens or portable planters such as wood planters, used cans and pots.

To make activities more enjoyable, community fairs, Guinness World record competitions and lectures will accompany the planting activities. School principals and teachers will also be encouraged to make Oh My Gulay! part of its school activities and science discussions, while private corporations will be asked to donate cash and/or resources such as seeds and planters. Joining the OMG campaign is a consortium of government agencies that include the Department of Education, Bureau of Plant Industry, Food and Nutrition Research Institute and Department of Health; private corporations such as Nestle, Unilever, Pfizer, Mead Johnson, the Infant and the Pediatric Association of the Philippines, and individual volunteers. Recent research shows that only five percent of a child’s diet is dedicated to fruits and vegetables while 83 percent is concentrated on carbohydrates. Data also shows that 26 percent of 100 pre-school children are malnourished. Twenty-six percent of 0 to five-year-old children and 25 percent of six to 10-year-old children are underweight. Many suffer from protein energy malnutrition, iron deficiency anemia, vitamin A deficiency and iodine deficiency disorders.