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Bata
Movement:
Stopping the deadly hand that rocks the cradle
THIRTY TWO out of every 1,000 Filipino children die before
their 5th birthday – it is because of this unfortunate
fact that the Bata Movement tries to lead the way as it establishes
awareness and action by forging `mga batang pinalaki sa tamang
alaga.’ An initiative composed of organizations from
all over the country, the movement is a concrete response
to the 4th Millennium Development Goal (MDG4) which has the
objective of decreasing mortality among infants and children
below five years of age by 2015.
“More than the sheer number of children’s lives
wasted, the one thing more alarming is the fact that they
could have actually been prevented,” asserts Dr. Lulu
Bravo, Co-Convenor of Bata Movement and Executive Director
of the National Institutes of Health. She shares that one
of the strategies by which Bata Movement plans to address
this is through advocacy and awareness. “We want to
encourage people to focus on the plight of children and to
inform them about the recommended interventions for child
survival.”
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| CONGRESSWOMAN CYNTHIA
VILLAR is the honorary chairwoman and the lead person to drum
up legislative support for Bata Movement. She is represented
by daughter Camille in child survival advocacy functions. Camille
is shown in a huddle with HUBLAS Marketing Manager Ricardo Octavio
Jr. |
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One of
the most pressing interventions which Bata Movement wishes to
promote is vaccination and in particular, against the number
one killer of under-5 children worldwide, Invasive Pneumococcal
Diseases (IPD).
Each year, around one million succumb to (IPD); including 82,000
Filipino children. Meanwhile the WHO and UNICEF further underscore
the importance of IPD by identifying its bacteria, Streptococcus
pneumoniae, to be the leading cause of Pneumonia. In the Asia
Pacific region alone, 98 children die from Pneumonia every hour
– more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. “Being
the leading cause of penumonia deaths in children, a reduction
in the incidence of pneumococcal disease would most likely result
in improvement of child survival,” notes Dr. Bravo.
To counter the threat of Invasive Pneumococcal Diseases, Bata
Movement is working towards increasing awareness among the general
public, policymakers, and the healthcare workers themselves
on the value of IPD vaccination. Dra. Bravo shares: “Vaccination
is considered the most cost-effective measure for preventing
disease. And because recent vaccine developments have made possible
the production of a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine that will
be safe and effective for infants and young children, every
effort must be exerted by every country and community to make
such vaccines available to them.” Aside
from vaccination, Bata Movement decrees that the essential
child survival package should include: 1. Skilled birth attendants
(Ensuring that mothers deliver in hospitals); 2. Proper newborn
care (Cleaning, giving warmth, latching-on during the first
hour of life, are some of the procedures done for the newborn);
3. Exclusive breastfeeding for six months and complementary
feeding; 4) Micronutrients supplementation and de-worming
(Includes the giving of Vit A, Iron, Zinc and regular deworming
for children as well as pregnant women); 5. Integrated management
of diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria; 6. Accident and injury
prevention; 7. Birth spacing; 8. Other interventions for endemic
areas (Use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets for malarious
areas, safe drinking water and prevention of maternal transmission
of HIV).
Bata Movement believes that the mentioned
interventions may prove to be the most cost-effective and
even inexpensive for some of the measures enumerated. It is
the purpose of Bata Movement to issue a call to action for
the proper implementation of these interventions. Communities,
local governments and other health authorities should allocate
the needed resources, should prioritize health measures and
make them accessible to all children, through all levels of
society.
“Through Bata Movement, we are enjoining
our people and fellow child health advocates to improve child
survival,” ends Dr.Bravo. (GeiserMaclang/Photos
by ABIGAIL REGALA, FILES Magazine) |
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| SYMBOLIC FLOWER OFFERING,
to generate local and international awareness on the rights
of the children. Together with foreign advocates are (from right,
front row) Dr. Lulu C. Bravo, Department of Health Asst. Secretary
Elmer Punzalan and Camille Villar. |
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| THIRTY TWO out of every
1,000 Filipino children die before their 5th birthday. In the
Asia Pacific region alone, 98 children die from Pneumonia every
hour – more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. |
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| “BATA: SA TAMANG
ALAGA”. Bata Movement is an organization of health professional
organizations committed to reduce infant and child mortality.
It was launched on April 11, 2008 at the Museo Pambata, Roxas
Boulevard, Manila. Prime mover is the Philippine Pediatric Society
and UP National Institutes of Health in harmony with other health
champions. |
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| “THE ADVOCACY on
how to fight INVASIVE PNEUMOCOCCAL DISEASES (IPD) in Region
6 can very well be taken care of by Director Depra Ramos”,
DOH Asst. Sec. Elmer Punzalan informs Maria Fajardo of Panay
News and Ricardo Octavio Jr. of HUBLAS. |
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