Philippines: Ensuring Food Security and Nutrition for Children 0-2 Years Old in the Philippines
JOINT PROGRAMME QUICK FACTS
Total Budget $3,500,000
Delivery Rate
Participating Agencies FAO, UNICEF, ILO, WHO, WFP
Main Achievements
- The marketing brand and communication logo for Exclusive Breast-Feeding has been developed and approved; there is a high level of recognition of the brand both at the community level and among local health workers.
- Infant and Young Child Feeding peer counselors have been recruited and trained, and advocacy initiatives at national and local levels implemented. Milk Code monitoring trainings were completed, and development of national IYCF communication strategy begun.
- The Early Warning System on food security and nutrition was launched and piloted, with reports used as basis in designing appropriate responses.
Contact Jona Carabaguio, JP Coordinator
jona.cabaguio@gmail.com
jona.cabaguio@gmail.com
Recent energy, food and financial crisis add to the challenge of reducing underweight in children in the Philippines from 24.6% to 17.25% in 2015. The National Nutrition Council, the national coordinating body, has refocused its efforts on children 0-2 years of age, to improve breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices.
This joint programme aims to influence the reduction and complements government’s efforts through social marketing strategies to support exclusive breastfeeding including behaviour change communication; and at the local level, to galvanise multi-sectoral duty bearers to create an enabling environment for pregnant and lactating women where the rights of the child to appropriate infant feeding are supported and protected. To strengthen the nutrition information system, the quality of data reported through the system from the local through to the national level will be reviewed and a district level early warning nutrition and food security system will be initiated.