22 January 2019, Cagayan de Oro City - On November 29, 2018, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11148- Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act─ an Act Scaling up the National and Local Health and Nutrition Programs through a Strengthened Integrated Strategy for Maternal, Neonatal, Child Health and Nutrition during the First 1,000 Days of Life.
Also considered as the “golden window of opportunity”, the First 1000 Days of life starts from the first day of conception until the child’s 2nd birthday. It is in this period that appropriate health and nutrition interventions should be given so the child can reach optimum growth and development, which can even help the child grow as healthy and productive adult. Moreover, malnutrition during this period can have irreversible or long-term consequences. Thus, the quality of nutrition during the First 1000 Days can have a significant impact on the achievement of national and global development goals.
In accordance with the right to health guaranteed by the State and with the pursuance of commitment of the State to the Philippine Development Plan, RA 11148 provides birth and nutrition strategies for mothers and infants up to two years of age. It also offers community health services support and training for mothers.
The recent approval of this act paves way to strengthening the enforcement of other existing nutrition-related laws, programs, policies and guidelines including Executive Order No. 51, otherwise known as the “National Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, Breastmilk Supplements and other Related Products” or the “Milk Code of the Philippines” and Republic Act No. 10028, otherwise known as the “Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009” that are specifically designed to protect, promote, and support optimal infant and young child feeding and maternity protection which contributes greatly during the rapid growth of the child’s physical and cognitive development.
This also mandates the provision of vaccination, deworming, Vitamin A drops, and iron and food supplements to infants and women. Also prioritized in the measure are those who reside in disaster prone areas, communities isolated due to distance, inaccessibility to transportation, areas identified to have high incidences of poverty and those belonging to vulnerable sector.
In the 2015 National Nutrition Survey, 33.4% of the total population of the Filipino children or 4.6 million are stunted, of which Northern Mindanao data shows 36.5% prevalence rate of stunted children. In a news report, Save the Children Philippines claims some 95 children below 5 years old die every day due to preventable diseases caused by undernutrition.
The Department of Health, National Nutrition Council, Department of Agriculture, together with other agencies and local government units, with this act, aims to “provide comprehensive, sustainable, multisectoral strategies and approaches to address health and nutrition problems of newborns, infants and young children, pregnant and lactating women and adolescent females, as well as multi-factorial issues that negatively affects the development of newborns, infants and young children, integrating the short, medium and long-term plans of the government to end hunger, improve health and nutrition, and reduce malnutrition.”
“Sa wakas, batas na ang ating pet legislation, ang First 1000 Days! Para ito sa lahat ng ina at bata, ngayon at sa mga susunod na henerasyon.” said Senator Grace Poe, co-author and co-sponsor of this measure in the Senate. (Article by RollyGhen Japus Cabahug; Infographics by Nikki Caong, CMU BSND OJTs)
