THE Philippines has 95 children dying every day due to malnutrition, a hard fact to contend with as the nation readies for Christmas when tables are filled with sumptuous dishes.
The situation of children in the country fares equal to those in war- and famine-stricken Yemen, where a child dies every 10 minutes, according to studies of Save the Children.
Globally, there are three threats to the lives of children below five years old–poverty, armed conflict and discrimination against girls. In its 2017 report, titled “End of Childhood Report,” at least 155 million children under age 5 were said to suffer from chronic malnutrition.
Lawyer Albert Muyot, chief executive officer of Save the Children Philippines, said for three decades, the problem of malnutrition has stalked millions of children in the country due to intergenerational poverty.
Stunted and underweight mothers are at higher risk of giving birth to underweight offspring, according to him.
“Malnutrition is a silent killer among the children of poor and marginalized families,” he said.
His group welcomed the signing of the First 1,000 Days law, now Republic Act 11148, which addresses preventable infant and maternal illnesses and deaths and malnutrition among millions of Filipino children of poor families.
“We welcome the enactment of the First 1,000 Days law, to be known as ‘Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act,’ that will ensure children of poor families will have access to quality health and nutrition services to help them achieve optimum growth and development,” said Muyot.
The First 1,000 Days law was signed by President Duterte on November 29, 2018, nine days after the 29th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It was coauthored by Sen. Risa Hontiveros and Rep. Angelina Tan of Quezon Province.
In a 2015 study, “Sizing Up,” Save the Children Philippines said there were 3.6 million stunted children in the Philippines. The country ranked 9th on the list of 10 countries in the world with the highest stunting prevalence rate along with famine- and war-stricken countries in sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, there are around 800,000 malnourished children.
Malnutrition has four indicators—stunting (bansot) or below standard height for age, underweight, wasting or below standard weight for height, and low birth weight or newborns with below-2,500 grams weight.
The study said that stunting is not a racial and genetic trait but a result of lingering problem of chronic malnutrition among millions of Filipino children.
Dr. Amado Parawan, Health and Nutrition advisor of Save the Children Philippines, hopes the law will prioritize key areas where there is a high concentration of undernourished children and pregnant mothers who have no access to quality health and nutrition services.
Save the Children Philippines provided technical support in the drafting of the First 1,000 Days law to both Senate and House of Representatives based on its existing programs on health and nutrition for pregnant and lactating mothers, newborns, infants and young children including early childhood care and development, child protection, food security and livelihoods and adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
Parawan said malnutrition among children aged 5 and below has irreversible effects and could lead to deaths from preventable diseases.
He said the first 1,000 days of the child’s development is a “window of opportunity” to address malnutrition and child deaths from preventable diseases.
The National Nutrition Survey of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST) showed that stunting among children aged 5 and below increased to 33.4 percent in 2015, from 30.3 percent in 2013; the number of underweight children aged 5 and below also increased to 21.5 percent in 2015, from 20 percent in 2013.
The First 1,000 Days law implements health and nutrition interventions and services program during pregnancy until the child’s second birthday. It also supports nutrition programs for mothers before, during and after giving birth.
The law also supports baby trainings for community-based health and nutrition service providers, support for barangay health workers and training for mothers to ensure a healthy pregnancy and the child’s health and nutrition.
“With the enactment of the law, we are one step closer in making sure that millions of Filipino children will have a healthy start in life, “ Parawan said.
Save the Children Philippines implemented in 2016 the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Nutrition (MNCHN) program among the urban poor families in Caloocan, Navotas and Malabon in Metro Manila, and in rural communities in the municipalities of Alabel and Maitum in Sarangani and Arakan and Magpet in North Cotabato to provide quality basic health and nutrition services to children under 5 years old who are suffering from undernutrition, severe acute malnutrition (severely wasted), infections and diseases. All this, to prevent their deaths.
Early this year, the group launched Project: Nurture (Nutrition among Urban Poor Through Unified Response) to reduce deaths among malnourished children in eight impoverished barangays in Navotas City.
The project provided nutrition and health services, including supplements for pregnant and lactating mothers, feeding programs, management and treatment of moderately and severely acute malnourished children and social protection support through conditional cash transfer, and vocational and technical trainings.
Prior to the passage of the First 1,000 Days law, the city governments of Navotas and Malabon had enacted their own local laws following the pilot-testing of Save the Children Philippines nutrition programs, the group said.
If coming home from shopping or Christmas parties, one notices a seeming increase in the number of child beggars lingering around Metro Manila and knocking on car windows, know that the number is only the tip of the iceberg, as the bulk of starving children live in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao and informal settlers in Metro Manila.
Another hard fact to reckon with—Save the Children Philippines said there are 1.5 million children who go through silent nights with empty stomachs.
****
Ms. Torres, a former BusinessMirror senior reporter, is Head, Media and Communications of Save the Children Philippines.
Image credits: LJ Pasion/Save The Children