First 1,000 Days law to lift healthcare for kids

Child rights advocates lauded the signing into law of the First 1,000 Days bill, which will expand the country’s nutrition and health programs up to the first two years of life.

The bill, which has already been approved by the bicameral conference committee last August, was signed into law by President Duterte last November 29.

The bicam-approved bill, which is now Republic Act 11148, was a reconciliation of Senate Bill 1577 and House Bill 5777, which both chambers of Congress said is aimed at fixing a gaping hole on social protection in the Philippines.

Under RA 11148, a full slate of health and nutrition services will be provided – from the pre-natal period, to the immediate postpartum period, the newborn period, and up until children reach two years of age.

The bill also sets a strategy to prioritize mothers and children in areas with a high prevalence of undernutrition, as identified by the National Household Targeting System.

Citing a World Health Organization report, Child Rights Network (CRN) said the first 1,000 days of child development is important because over 5.9 million children under five years old worldwide succumb to malnutrition.

Data from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) also complements the WHO figure, with the agency disclosing that almost one in three Filipino children aged two years old below are malnourished in 2013.

FNRI also revealed that stunting, or the impaired growth and development that children experience from poor nutrition and repeated infection, is prevalent in the Philippines, with one in three children under five becoming stunted, and 11 of the 17 regions in the country reporting high stunting rates.