THE FILIPINO CHILD OF THE MILLENNIUM

The new millennium ushered in a world with a radically different social, economic, technological, and political fabric that growth with it fresh hopes and challenges. It was in this context that the country concretized its vision for the nation’s children and articulated this in the Philippine National Strategic Framework for Plan Development for Children (2000-2025), more popularly known as Child 21. In the year 2000, the United Nations posted the Millennium Summit and drafted the millennium declaration, where the members countries committed to the eight-point Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This challenge lies at the heart and soul of the National, Plan of Action for Children (2005-2010) or NFAC.

1. NATIONAL POLICY AND PLANNING INITIATIVES AND FRAMEWORKS The Philippine Plan of Action for Children (PPAC)

FOUR RIGHTS CATEGORIES FOR ALL CHILDREN 1. Survival2. Protection3. Development4. Participation

PPAD pioneered the Rights-Based approach in plan development for children, which has influenced and guided all succeeding child-centered policies and plans in the country. It focused on the following major areas:

1. Family care and Alternative Parental Arrangement

2. Basic Health, Nutrition, Social Security and Safe Environment.

3.Basic Education, Leisure, Recreation and Cultural Activities.

4. Protection of children in Especially Difficult Circumstances.

5. Fundamental Civil rights of Children.

CHILD 21 The Various life stages defined by child 21 were:1. Unborn Child (prenatal)2. Infancy (0-2 years)3. Early Childhood (6-12 years)4. Middle childhood (6-12 years)5. Adolescence (13-17 years) Child 21 introduced to the strategic planning framework for children was a focus on the relevant stakeholders that touch and/ or influence. The lives of children, such as:1. Families2. Local Communities3. Non-Governmental Organizations, People’s

Organizations, Civil society, Church, Private Organizations.

4. Schools5. Local Government Units6. National Government7. Mass Media8. Children

MEDIUM TERM PHILPPINE DEVELOPMENT PLANStrategies on Education:

1. Early Childhood Education2. Basic Education3. Technical, Vocational Education and

Training4. Higher Education

II. GLOBAL POLICY AND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE AND FRAMEWORKS Emphasizing the needs to address emerging problems and concerns in globalized world, the United Nations set fourth global priorities for the new millennium in the Millennium Development Goals.

GOALS TARGETSGoal 1Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

• Halve the proportion of living in extreme poverty.• Halve the proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption.• Halve the proportion of underweight children (under 5 year old)

Goal 2Achieve Universal Primary Education

• Achieve universal access to primary education by 2015

Goal 3Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

• Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2025, and in all levels of education no later than 2015.

Table 1. Millennium Development Goals Pertaining to Women and Children

Goal 4 • Reduce the mortality rate of children under five by 2/3 by 2015.

Goal 5Improve Maternal Health

• Reduce maternal mortality rate ¾ by 2015 (half by 2000, half by 2015)• Increase access to reproductive health services to 60% by 2005, 80% by 2010, and 100% by 2015.

Goal 6Combat HIV/ AIDS, malaria and other diseases

• Half and reverse the spread of HIV/ AIDS by 2015• Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other diseases.

Goal 7Ensure Environmental Sustainability

• By 2020, to have achieved a signified improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum duelers• Halve the proportion of people with no access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, or those who cannot afford it, by 2015

Goal 8Develop a global partnership for development

• Provide access to affordable essential drugs, in cooperation with pharmaceutical companies

World Fit for Children (WFC) A follow through document was developed by the United Nations soon after the MDG, with a special focus on children.

Four (4) Priority Objectives of World Fit for Children (WFC) Promoting Healthy Lives Providing Quality Education Protection, from violence, abuse and exploitation Combating HN/ AIDS

The National Plan of Action for Children, 2015-2010 (NFAC) NFAC was envisioned to draw from the rich experience of a wide spectrum of sectors in the country, including the children themselves.

MAJOR OBJECTIVES OF NFAC1. Persistent Problems and Emerging Concerns;2. Key Priority Areas.3. Recommended Programs and Interventions.

NFAC Objectives and Overview1. Build on the successes of and lessons from PPAC2. Concretize the vision for the Filipino Child

Articulated in Child 21;3. Update the key national issues, goals and targets

identified in Child 214. Ensure alignment to the Millennium Development

and World Fit for Children Goals and Targets.INTERVENTION- refers to an effort, program, project, campaign, legislation, or the like, designed to address to specific problems or set of problems that directly affect children enabling mechanisms for the development of a child-friendly environment.

Life Stage Child 21 NFACUnborn Prenatal Mother and the

UnbornInfancy 0 to 2 years old 0 to less than 1

year oldEarly Childhood 2 to 5 years old 1 less than 5

yearsMiddle

Childhood6 to 12 years

old5 to less than 10 years old

Adolescence 13 to 17 years old

Early Adolescence 10

less than 14 years old

Late Adolescence 14 to less than 18

years old

Table 2. Life Stage Definitions of Child 21 vs. NFAC

The Redefinition of Life Stages in NFAC achieve the following Objectives:

1. Recognize the unique needs of children at very specific points in the life cycle, thereby

2. Align NFAC definitions and classifications with international standards, based on the latest research on children.

3. Align NFAC definitions and classifications with existing classifications used by the different technical agencies (such as health, nutrition, education and others)

4. Provide ease of alignment of interventions spearheaded by the various technical agencies.

5. Provide greater ease and accuracy of monitoring and evaluation.

OUR COMMITMENT TO THE FILIPINO CHILD: Goals, Targets, and

Interventions

This section summarizes the priority goals, targets, and interventions of the National Plan of Action for Children, taking into account the findings of the NPAC and CWC/NECA/UNICEF situation analyses, emerging trends, international commitments, and the directions of the current Philippine administration.

NPAC Aims to Reduce the following Disparities1. Disparity in Performance Across the Different Indicators This refers to the wide gap between the country’

current performance to a particular indicator (Maternal Rate) versus the target performance 2010.

2. Disparity of Access to and Avallment of Services Across Different Sectors of Children.

This may reflect ethnic disparities, with minorities often living in remote or mountainous areas that may make it difficult to service providers to reach, or who, by virtue of their ethnic background are subject to lower levels of service.

3. Disparity of Access to and Avallment of Services across Different Regions, Geographic Disparities

This is usually due to remoteness and/or sparse population destiny, which lead to lower levels of social service provision and lower social indicators.

There are 20 years that stand between 2005 and 2025. In terms of action planning and program implementation this 20 year period can be subdivided

NPAC1, Covering 2005 to 2010- Goal: Disparity Reduction-Strategies: Focused Targeting and Institution Building

NPAC2, Covering 2011 to 2015-Goal: Catching up with MDG-Strategies: Focused Targeting and Convergence

NPAC3, Covering 2016 to 2020-Goal: Sustaining the Gains

NPAC4, Covering 2021 to 2025-Goal: Achieving Child 21Vision-Strategy: Friendly Movement

CORE STRATEGY: Disparity reduction through focused for Targeting and Institution Building

Sustainability Strategies:• Advocacy, communication, social marketing• Strengthening institutional partnerships• Empowerment of children• Capability Building of Key stakeholders• Character Development and Values formation• Performance monitoring and documentation of best practices

NPAC 1(2005-2010) will focus on the following objectives:

Achieve operational excellence(excellence in service access and avallment) through institutional development, localization, and capability building of service providers and other stakeholders Enhance monitoring systems to identify areas of disparity and for more focused targeting Develop a relevant research and development agenda for program development, delivery, and impact assesment

ACHIEVE OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Key Interventions:

LOCALIZATION AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT. Programs should be localized by integration in sectoral development policies, plans, budgets, and programs of LGUs to ensure relevance, speed and efficiency in service delivery.

CAPABILITY BUILDING. Capability building efforts should be aimed at better understanding children in various life stages and addressing age-specific concerns and issues.

Attention should also be given to capability-building of fathers. Alternatives methods of training and education delivery may be required for this purpose.

Empowerment and Reaffirmation of Paternal Ability(ERPAT) and Ang Mapagkalingang Ama (AMA) should be encouraged.

2. ENHANCE MONITORING SYSTEMS A systematic method of assessing and evaluating performance at three levels needs to be established: Impact, relevance and responsiveness of programs and interventions in terms of achieving the desired targets and results; Efficiency, effectiveness and reach of service delivery; Performance of service providers, to assess capability, quality, and effectiveness of service delivery.

3. DEVELOP RELEVANT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AGENDA The following research studies need to be part of the agenda: In-depth study on the effects of separation of migrant workers from their families In-depth and/or cross-country studies on child trafficking and pornography Documentation of successful learning communities to encourage possible replication and/or adaptation in other areas Study on per capita cost per child/cost effectiveness of programs and services Localized situation analyzes for the development of more responsive interventions

NPAC-1 INDICATORS AND TARGETS PER LIFE STAGE

INDICATORS 1998(BASE YEAR)

2004 QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT TO DATE

2010

MOTHER AND THE UNBORN CHILDMaternal mortality Rate (MMR)

172 deaths per 100,000 live births

To *129 deaths per 100,00 live births

INFANCY (0 TO LESS THAN 1 YEAR OLD)Birth Registration

84% of births 85% of births To 100% of births

Infant Mortality Rate(IMR)

35 deaths per 1,000 live births

29 deaths per 1,000 live births

To *17 deaths per 1,000 live births

Full Immunization

90% of births 84% of births To *95% of births

EARLY CHILDHOOD (1 TO LESS THAN 5 YEARS OLD)

Under Five Mortality Rate (UMR)

49M deaths per 1,000 live births

40 deaths per 1,000 live births

To *33.4 deaths per 1,000 live births

Underweight (includes children 0-11 months)

32% of children

26.9% of children

To 21.2% of children

Attendance to day care

33.5% of children

34.1% of children

To 75% of children

Attendance to pre-school

77.8% of children

To 100% of children

MIDDLE CHILDHOOD (5 TO LESS THAN 10 YEARS OLD)Underweight 30.2% of

children26.5 of children

To 15% of children

Attendance to school

95.7% of children

90.55 of children

To 93% of children

Completion of schooling

80.2% of children

80.8% of children

To 89.5% of children

EARLY AND LATE ADOLESCENCE (10 TO LESS THAN 18 YEARS OLD)Attendance to school

62.2% of children

66.1% of children

To 83.7% of children

Completion of schooling

80.3% of children

71.5% of children

To 6.7% of children

In terms of sector, the children who need the most attention continue to be: Children in conditions of disability Children subject commercial sexual exploitation and child abuse children subject to child labor Children in conflict with the law Children in situations of armed conflict Children of indigenous people

ACROSS REGIONSDISPARITIES ACROSS REGIONS

REGIONS AND KEY ISSUES THAT NEED FOCUSED INTERVENTIONSNCR REGION: Nutrition Early childhood care and stimulation Access to quality education Children in conflict with the lawREGION I: Health and nutrition Early education and low participation rateREGION II: Birth registration Infant mortality Nutrition Children of indigenous peoples Child participation

REGION III: Health and Nutrition Birth registration Child participation Adolescent reproductive healthCAR REGION: Maternal mortality Birth registration Infant mortality under 5 mortality Pre- school, grade school, high school attendance completion, and performance Children in situation of disability Children of indigenous peoplesREGION 1V-A: Full immunization Health and Nutrition Children in conflict with the law Children of indigenous peoples

REGION IV-B: Maternal mortality Health, nutrition and sanitation Early education, participation rate and performance Adolescent reproductive health Children in need of special protection Children of indigenous peoples Children in situation of disabilityREGION V: Maternal mortality Health and nutrition family and development Participation rate Children in need of special protection

REGION VI: Family development Health and nutrition EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT Children in conflict with the law

REGION VII: Family development Health and Nutrition Early education, participation rate and school performance Adolescent reproductive health Children of indigenous peoples

REGION VIII: Family development, parenting education Health and nutrition Adolescent reproductive health

REGION IX: Maternal mortality

REGION X: Infant mortality

REGION XI: Health and nutrition

REGION XII: