PhilHealth, UNICEF launch benefit package to address severe malnutrition in children

by Info @Brand Zone | Oct. 1, 2024

Manila, 1 October 2024 – The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund or UNICEF, has launched the first-ever Severe Acute Malnutrition Outpatient Therapeutic Care Benefit Package in the Philippines and globally. This groundbreaking initiative puts lifesaving treatment within reach of the country’s most vulnerable children. For the first time, the country’s national health insurance system includes comprehensive support for children suffering from severe wasting and other life threatening forms of acute malnutrition. 

A critical response to malnutrition in the Philippines 

Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is one of the most critical global health concerns affecting 14.3 million children worldwide, yet only a small percentage receive the necessary treatment. In the Philippines, where one in three children faces the triple burden of malnutrition—undernutrition (stunting and wasting), micronutrient deficiencies, and overnutrition (overweight and obesity)—nearly 600,000 children suffer from wasting. In regions like Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the wasting rate reaches 10 per cent, double the national average. 

SAM is the most dangerous form of undernutrition and can leave children extremely thin, weak, and unable to fight off infections. Without early identification and immediate intervention, SAM can quickly lead to death, or even if the child survives, it can lead to stunting later on. Children with SAM have very low weight-for-height, a very low mid-upper arm circumference, or suffer from nutritional oedema. Families and caregivers whose children have SAM should visit their local health centers to access this free benefit package. 

The SAM benefit package is available in health centers and primary care facilities across the country to ensure that lifesaving treatment and care reach those in most need. 

What the benefit package means for children and families 

Through the benefit package, families with children suffering from SAM will receive treatment services worth ₱7,500 for children 0-6 months old and ₱17,000 for children 6-60 months old. This financial support helps relieve families from the burden of added treatment costs. 

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The treatment package provides medical care and ready-to-use therapeutic foods, which help restore weight and treat the underlying infections affecting children with severe acute malnutrition. Families are also supported with ongoing counseling from health professionals, who guide them in proper infant and young child feeding and hygiene practices to prevent the reoccurrence of malnutrition. Regular follow-ups through home visits help monitor each child’s progress, especially those who are not responding well to treatment or struggling to thrive. Moreover, referrals to inpatient care are available for children with medical complications and requiring more specialized care. 

“These packages are PhilHealth's support to the government’s effort to fight malnutrition in the country. With these, we may help reduce the developmental and medical impacts of malnutrition to the children and their families that will lead to a healthier Philippines,” said PhilHealth President and CEO Emmanuel R. Ledesma Jr. 

Working together for every child 

PhilHealth and UNICEF encourage health providers and parents to take full advantage of this package. As the first line of defense in the fight against child malnutrition, primary care health workers have the power to save lives by ensuring that children in their care are identified early and receive the appropriate treatment they need for SAM. 

“Every child, whoever they are and wherever they live, has the right to a healthy start in life, and no family should be held back by financial barriers when it comes to life saving treatment to overcome malnutrition,” said Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov, UNICEF Representative to the Philippines. “Through a national health insurance, we can make sure every child is identified early and has free access to the care they need. We are giving them a real chance at a healthy and productive future.” 

For more information, visit this page or view resources on managing severe malnutrition. Families may also contact their local health center or call PhilHealth’s hotline at (02) 8662-2588. 

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For more information, please contact: 

Dr. Israel Francis A. Pargas l PhilHealth Spokesperson and SVP for Health Finance Policy Sector | +63 917 808 9399 

Lely Djuhari | Chief of Advocacy and Communication, UNICEF Philippines | +63 917 567 5622 | ldjuhari@unicef.org 

About PhilHealth 

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) is a Government Owned and Controlled Corporation mandated to administer the National Health Insurance Program to provide social health insurance coverage and ensure affordable, acceptable, available and accessible health care services for all Filipinos. 

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About UNICEF 

UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, works to protect the rights of every child, everywhere, especially the most disadvantaged children and in the toughest places to reach. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we do whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive, and fulfil their potential. 

For more information about UNICEF and its work for children in the Philippines, visit https://www.unicef.org/philippines. Follow UNICEF Philippines on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

UNICEF: Mahigit 100 milyong doses ng Covid vaccine tinanggihan ng mahihirap na bansa

ni Jasmin Joy Evangelista | January 14, 2022

Mahigit 100 milyon doses ng COVID-19 vaccine na ipinamamahagi ng global program na COVAX ang tinanggihan ng mahihirap na bansa noong Disyembre, ayon sa opisyal ng UNICEF nitong Huwebes.

Ito ay dahil umano sa maiksing shelf life ng mga bakuna.

"More than a 100 million have been rejected just in December alone," ani Etleva Kadilli, director of Supply Division ng UN agency UNICEF sa mga lawmakers sa European Parliament.

Napilitan ding i-delay ang mga supplies sa mahihirap na bansa dahil sa kakulangan nito sa storage facilities, ayon kay Kadili, kabilang na ang kawalan ang fridges para sa mga bakuna.

Para iwas-sakit – WHO, DOH, UNICEF... Mga magulang, pabakunahan ang mga anak

ni Lolet Abania | October 24, 2021

Mariing hinihikayat ngayon ang mga magulang na pabakunahan na ang kanilang mga anak laban sa mga tinatawag na preventable diseases, ayon sa World Health Organization (WHO) at ilan pang grupo kasabay ng pagdiriwang ng World Polio Day ngayong Linggo.

Matatandaang inianunsiyo ng pamahalaan nitong Hunyo na huminto na ang polio outbreak sa bansa matapos na mag-resurfaced o muling naitala ito noong 2019.

Ang mga bata na nasa edad 5 ang pinaka-vulnerable o madaling tamaan ng polio, “a highly infectious, crippling, and sometimes fatal disease that can be avoided with a vaccine,” ayon sa WHO, Department of Health (DOH), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), at Rotary International.

“Once a commonplace illness, polio has been eliminated from most countries, including now again in the Philippines. This shows the power of vaccines to save lives and protect people from diseases such as polio,” ani WHO representative of the Philippines na si Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe.

“Ang mga bakuna po for routine immunization ay ligtas at libre, makipag-ugnayan lamang po sa local health centers sa inyong lugar,” sabi naman ni DOH Secretary Francisco Duque.

Una nang ni-launched ng DOH nito lamang buwan ang catch-up immunization campaign, na layong mabakunahan ng anti-polio vaccine ang mga bata na nasa edad 2 na naka-missed ng naturang vaccine doses.

Halos kalahating milyong Pilipinong mga bata noong 2020, ang nakaligtaan ang kanilang oral polio drops para sa routine immunization dahil na rin sa pandemya.

Ayon sa isang joint statement ng grupo, nananatili namang endemic ang polio sa mga lugar lamang ng Afghanistan at Pakistan.

Dagdag pa nila, ito lamang din ang ikalawang sakit sunod sa smallpox na kailangang sugpuin ng mga naturang bansa at maging polio-free na rin.

“Every disease outbreak strains the country’s resources, especially health workers, as the pandemic persists,” saad ni Abeyasinghe.

“The lives and health of our children are at stake. Our plea to parents: please ensure that your children have received all the routine childhood vaccines including polio doses as we prepare for them to go back to schools and early learning centers,” sabi pa ni Abeyasinghe.

“Vaccines work – the fact that we are close to ending polio is proof of this. However, we are not yet there and we must fulfill our promise to children to make the world polio-free,” pahayag naman ni Mary Anne Alcordo Solomon, coordinator ng Rotary International Zone 10A (Philippines) End Polio Now.