Mayor Honey Lacuna is urging parents who have children with cleft lip or cleft palate deformities to take advantage of the city government’s program that aims to eradicate such problems among youngsters within the city of Manila.
Lacuna said that the program is a joint effort on one hand, by the city government represented by the Sta. Ana Hospital headed by its director Dr. Grace Padilla and the Manila Health Department chief Dr. Poks Pangan and on the other, by Operation Smile Philippines (OSP), a non-government organization.
The lady mayor said that the OSP specializes in cleft lip or cleft palate advocacy and that Sta. Hospital is fortunate to have been chosen by the OSP to team up with in the launch of the “Zero Cleft Lip/Palate” program.
The mass operations will be done in May this year with about 70 slots targeted to be filled.
Lacuna thanked the said organization for helping the city and its young population who have cleft lip or palate, as she also led in receiving the donation coming from OPS and Johnson and Johnson Philippines for the 44 health centers consisting of analog infant scale, adult weight and height scale, blood pressure app, pulse oximeters and adult and pediatric stets, among others.
Said donation was handed over by Bobby Manzano; Emiliano Romano, OSP Executive Director; Donald Lim, President of the Board; Miggy Gamboa, JnJ Consumer Health Senior Brand Manager; Ana Ysabel Ongpin – JnJ Consumer Health Communication and Public Affairs Lead; Mark Salas, OSP Program Manager; Carol Arriola – OSP Development Manager and Zachary Funtanilla – OSP Development Associate.
It was learned that the community-based initiative aims to provide outreach services in identified 44 barangays in the city of Manila.
The program’s primary objective is to detect and address all cases of cleft lip or cleft palate among children in the Manila by December 2023.
According to Padilla, the program’s implementation strategy involves the conduct of intensive community case detection through the Manila Health Department’s local health centers and barangays.
“The project’s success hinges on partnership and collaboration among significant stakeholders of the community,” she said.
Too, Padilla said that the project also aims to educate community members on cleft lip or cleft palate and promote early detection and its availability of service at the Sta. Ana Hospital through OSP.
“The partnership will go a long way in improving the healthcare system’s capacity and early access to medical services,” Padilla added.
“The “Zero Cleft Palate” Program is an important and ambitious effort that demonstrates the power of partnership collaboration and community-based driven interventions. By targeting the root cause of this preventable and treatable disease condition, the program seeks to eliminate barriers to healthcare access and create a brighter future for the children of Manila,” she stated.
