DSWD pushes for stronger partnerships to improve kids' health in celebration of Nat'l Children's Month
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) urged all sectors to work together in order to enhance children’s health and nutrition as the country celebrates the 31st National Children’s Month (NCM) this November.
Secretary Rex Gatchalian called for collaboration among stakeholders to improve children's health through holistic development programs and policies.
“With the proper guidance of parents and adults, children should also be given the appropriate platform where they can exercise and express their rights as individuals,” Gatchalian said in a statement.
“Let us, therefore, ensure that our children can live in an enabling, safe, and caring environment that allows them to realize their full potential and ability to contribute to nation-building,” he added.
Through Republic Act 10661, the NCM is a yearly event that honors the importance of the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on Nov. 20, 1989.
The celebration aims to strengthen the call for public awareness and support in protecting and promoting the rights of children.
“Ensuring the Right to Life for Everyone: Healthy, Nourished, Sheltered” is this year’s theme for the NCM celebration.
It emphasizes the importance of affordable, high-quality healthcare for children to uphold their rights to participation, development, protection, and survival.
The NCM celebration is spearheaded by the DSWD and its attached agency, the Council for the Welfare of Children, and the National Youth Commission.