Duterte signs national feeding program law

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Duterte signs national feeding program law

Dharel Placido,

ABS-CBN News

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Children carry their free meals given during a feeding program by the World Mission Community Care outreach group at a slum area in the Baseco compound in Manila. Romeo Ranoco, Reuters. 2014

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a law institutionalizing a national feeding program for undernourished children in the country.

Duterte signed on June 20 Republic Act 11037 or the “Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act,” which aims to combat hunger and undernutrition among Filipino children. The education and social welfare departments shall be the lead implementors of this law.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the law was a “clear proof of the President’s dedication to afford every Filipino child of the right to proper healthcare and nutrition benefits.”

“It is a testament that the Duterte administration recognizes the importance of good nutrition to our children’s ability to develop into physically and mentally healthy individuals,” he added.

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The law provides for the establishment of a supplemental feeding program for children attending day care centers aged 3 to 5. Children under this program shall receive one fortified meal for a period of not less than 120 days in a year.

A fortified meal, as defined by the law, is a “meal with deliberately increased content of essential micronutrients so as to improve the nutritional quality of the food and provide the level of calories and protein as prescribed by the National Nutrition Council.”

A school-based feeding program shall also be implemented by the education department for undernourished public school children from kindergarten to Grade 6 students. Children under this program shall also receive one fortified meal for a period of not less than 120 days in a year.

The law also provides for a milk feeding program, wherein fresh milk and fresh milk-based food products shall be incorporated in the fortified meals and standardized menus prepared by national government agencies.

The education and social welfare departments, in coordination with the health department, shall also provide micronutrient supplements, including iodized salt, to the program beneficiaries.

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The government shall also conduct simultaneous health examinations, including, but not limited to, deworming and vaccination.

The education and social welfare departments shall also encourage their respective component units to devote a portion of their land or space for cultivation of vegetables and other nutrient-rich plants. In coordination with the health department and local government units, the two departments shall establish and maintain water and sanitation facilities.

The national feeding program shall be complemented by a public health nutrition and values transformation campaign to “promote a holistic and integrated approach to health and nutrition education.”

The education and social welfare departments are also tasked to create a 5-year plan to fully implement the program. The law calls for the prioritization of the national feeding program in areas with high prevalence of undernutrition among children aged 3 years up to Grade 6 level.

The law also creates the National Nutrition Information System, which shall be utilized in monitoring the health and nutrition of all Filipino children, especially those covered by the program.

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To ensure the efficient and effective implementation of the program, the education and social welfare departments shall establish a community-based mode of procurement, liquidation and audit of goods and services needed for the program.

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