By Brian Jules Campued
Pregnant and lactating women will now be included in the coverage of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to ensure their children’s health needs for the first 1,000 days.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. approved the proposal of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to expand its 4Ps grant during a sectoral briefing with the DSWD, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Health (DOH), and other concerned agencies at the Malacañan Palace on Tuesday.
“On the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, bring the mother, the family into the system. That’s really good,” President Marcos said.
Marcos also ordered the DSWD and NEDA to report to him the necessary adjustments needed to expand the 4Ps.
The President’s latest directive comes after a sectoral meeting last Feb. 20, when the DSWD proposed to reform the government’s flagship poverty reduction program to include a first-thousand-days’ grant for 4Ps beneficiaries who are pregnant, nursing, or those with 0- to 2-year-old children.
The adjustments aim to increase the purchasing power of the beneficiaries and provide an incentive for them when they comply with the program’s conditions, including addressing malnutrition and stunting among children.
DSWD Sec. Rex Gatchalian said the additional grant is just temporary until such time that the children have passed through the first 1,000-day stage.
“This will serve as an incentive for them to have this what we call health-seeking behavior which means they will be motivated to go to the health center, register, avail of pre- and postnatal care, and post-partum treatment, including immunization for their 0- to 2-year old children,” Gatchalian said. – iro
