Senate ratifies bicam report on mother and child nutrition bill

The Senate on Monday adopted the bicameral conference committee report on the "Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act" seeking to provide government support to children in their first 1,000 days, a crucial stage of development.

Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito, chairman of the health committee, presented to the floor the reconciled version of Senate Bill No. 1537 and House Bill No. 5777.

“These measures which aim to scale up the national and local health and nutrition programs through a strengthened integrated strategy for maternal, neonatal, child health and nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life,” he said in his speech.

He said the Senate and the House of the Representatives' bills are very similar, as both have the intention to uphold the right to adequate food, care and nutrition of pregnant and lactating mothers, including adolescent girls; women of reproductive age; and especially children from zero to two years old.

He said that most of the adopted provisions were from the Senate version but the bicameral conference adopted the short title of the House of Representatives’ version, which is the “Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act.”

Senator Grace Poe, advocate of the bill, urged her colleagues to rally behind the "first 1,000 days" program, warning that without proper support, it may end up among the unfunded laws amid cuts to the Department of Health's budget.

She said the program, set to be implemented next year., also faces a fund reduction, with its 2019 proposed allocation pegged at P118 million from P300 million this year.

“We have a library of so-called ‘Mona Lisa’ laws that just lie there and die there. By our last count, around 137 mandates lack funding, amounting to a deficiency of P125.2 billion,” she said.

But with adequate support, the senator said “we are one step closer to closing a major gap in our social policy—the lack of care for mothers and children in the first 1,000 days of life.”

She said the legislation provides comprehensive, sustainable and multisectoral approaches to address health and nutrition problems of children 0-2 years of age, including pregnant and lactating women and adolescent females in order to eradicate hunger, improve nutrition, and prevent and manage malnutrition.

Under the measure, the Department of Health, the National Nutrition Council, and the Department of Agriculture, in coordination with other state agencies and local government units, are mandated to develop a comprehensive strategy for the first 1,000 days of life.

“This brief period of time can determine the fate of Filipino children, and thus, the future of our country,” said Poe. — BM, GMA News