Let’s strive to make Filipino kids brighter, stronger, taller
IT is now all systems go for the Children’s First One Thousand Days Coalition (CFDC) in the mission to intensify nutrition efforts for Filipino kids during the crucial period from conception to their second birthday.
At the Manila Hotel last Saturday, the CFDC launched its operations manual and training program to guide non-government organizations (NGOS) in helping government combat malnutrition in the first one thousand days of a child’s life as mandated by RA 11148 or the “Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Magnanay Act.”
The CFDC manual outlines specific interventions aimed at optimizing the health of both mother and child throughout the prepregnancy, pregnancy, and post-pregnancy stages.
Key features of the manual are collaboration with local government units (LGUS), formation of a Thousand Days Committee (TDC) by NGOS, and establishment of a joint NGO and Barangay First One Thousand Days Nutrition Committee (NBJC) to educate communities, identify pregnant and lactating mothers, and enroll them in the First One Thousand Days Nutrition Program.
The importance of comprehensive dietary guidance during pregnancy, promoting balanced diet rich in essential nutrients, and providing trimester-specific nutrition is stressed in the manual, as well as the need for monitoring and evaluation – focusing on breastfeeding support, optimal nutrition, and growth.
It encourages the NGOS’ collaboration with Department of Health-accredited health centers, barangay health workers (BHWS), and barangay nutrition scholars (BNSS) for regular health checkups, monitoring, and data collection.
The NBJC, comprised of the barangay chairman and NGO project chair, shall oversee the progress of the program, conduct regular meetings, and identify beneficiaries based on economic status. The BNSS shall monitor compliance and maintain records in the mother’s and baby’s books.
Participants in last Saturday’s event were officers of the various organizations behind the mission of CFDC. Among them were the Rotary International, Lions Clubs International, Kiwanis International, Junior Chamber International, The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines, The Fraternal Order of Eagles – Philippines Eagles, and Knights of Columbus.
Also extending full support to CFDC are the Knights of Rizal, Save the Children Philippines, World Vision Philippines, the Philippine Foundation of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals, the Philippine League of Government and Private Midwives, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Crusade Against Violence.
Getting good nutrition in the womb and throughout early life is of utmost importance for a child, as shown by many studies on brain development and expert testimonies of various professionals, from neuro scientists to child care specialists worldwide. The quality of nutrition is crucial in the first thousand days of life, which can be a time of immense vulnerability when the impact of poor nutrition on the brain can be profound, long-lasting, or even irreversible.
Brain development starts long before birth of the child, and progresses at astonishing speed very early on during the mother’s pregnancy. In just 16 days after conception, the brain’s neural tube forms and by seven months, the form of the brain resembles that of an adult.
By the fourth week in the womb, the brain contains around 10,000 cells that multiplies to as much as 10 billion at the 24th week of pregnancy. During this period, the brain can form 1,000 neural connections per second and such connections increase after birth.
“In the first few years of life, more than one million new neural connections are formed every second. After this period of rapid proliferation, connections are reduced through a process called pruning, so that brain circuits become more efficient,” according to scientific findings published by Harvard University’s
Center on the Developing Child. “Sensory pathways like those for basic vision and hearing are the first to develop, followed by early language skills and higher cognitive functions. Connections proliferate and prune in a prescribed order, with later, more complex brain circuits built upon earlier, simpler circuits.”
All throughout brain development in the womb, a mother’s diet and her stored nutrients are the only source of nutrition needed for the creation of new neurons which are “the cells that form the tissue that transmits and receives nervous impulses.”
“Nutrients also fuel the formation of synapses, which provide the basis for learning ability. When a mother lacks adequate calories, protein, fatty acids or key micronutrients in her pregnancy, these vital neurodevelopmental processes can be impaired,” according to a study titled “The role of nutrition in cognitive development” published in the Handbook of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.
UNICEF Philippines said that malnutrition in the first 1,000 days is associated with poorer performance in school as brain development is affected, and malnourished children are more likely to get sick and miss classes. And when our students perform poorly, the consequences to our country’s future can be devastating.
“The persistence of very high levels of childhood undernutrition, despite decades of economic growth and poverty reduction, could lead to a staggering loss of the country’s human and economic potential,” the World Bank (WB) said of the Philippines.
Thus, the mission of CFDC to uplift the vulnerable and intensify nutrition efforts for a new generation of Filipinos is vital. Let us unite behind CFDC in its battle cry for a brighter, stronger, taller Filipino children.