Philippines' youngest and most vulnerable are in dire need of care, says Save the Children
MANILA, Philippines (October 8, 2009) - Following two catastrophic back-to-back typhoons last week, Save the Children warns that the health of Filipino children under 5 is increasingly threatened by deteriorating conditions.
Skin diseases and other waterborne illnesses have become a serious problem among children and families, especially those living in evacuation shelters where sanitation conditions are deplorable.
Save the Children has identified an increasing number of children in evacuation centers who are suffering from skin infections and have developed symptoms of upper-respiratory illness and diarrhea, both of which are major killers of children in the developing world. Flood waters have not receded and remain a huge danger, with close to 70,000 families remaining in evacuation centers. In an emergency, access to services like health, education and social welfare are also severely weakened, putting the youngest survivors in increasing jeopardy.
"Babies in the first month of life face the greatest risk of dying among all children globally," said Latha Caleb, Save the Children's Country Director in the Philippines. "We know that simple measures — keeping newborns warm, ensuring treatment for pneumonia and diarrhea, and having skilled help at birth — can save babies. But children in these storm-affected areas face a host of dangers that pose a threat to their very survival. Pneumonia, malaria and diarrhea are the main killers of children under 5. Living in cramped and unsanitary conditions, children's exposure to these diseases is amplified. It is critical now to address the lack of sanitation systems and clean water that are resulting in widespread illness and disease."
Save the Children staff visited a school today serving as an evacuation center for 300 families. To get there, they rode through streets with waist-deep water on a make-shift boat made out of an air mattress and cardboard. The smell of waste in the water was pungent, and children were wading and swimming in the water while women washed clothes. People not in the evacuation centers were sitting on rooftops and any spaces not flooded with water.
The evacuation center was crowded, and there were only 3 functioning toilets, but they are also barricaded by water too high for children to cross. Families were living in school-rooms, with as many as 20 families to in a room.
Children were suffering from diarrhea and fever, and a woman had just delivered a baby. There is an urgent need for health services, improved sanitation, and safe areas for the children to play and to study when school reopens on Monday.
According to government figures, of the total affected population of 3.9 million people, 1.6 million are children. And of them, approximately 780,000 are children under five and 195,000 are under 1 year old.
"We have also heard from expectant mothers that, due to the high levels of water, access to critical health services is proving more difficult, making the timely treatment of a complication during delivery the difference between the survival of a mother and her new baby or not," continued Caleb.
According to Save the Children research, most newborn deaths could be prevented if women had access to basic health measures such as having a skilled attendant during childbirth who can identify and refer or complications, counseling on newborn care during the first critical hours and days after birth, and pre- and antenatal care.
Of the world's 136 million births each year, 60 million are outside health facilities, mainly at home. Most deaths at birth (99 percent) take place in low- and middle-income countries, primarily in Africa and South Asia, where fewer than half of women deliver with a skilled attendant.
Children in evacuation centers also face other threats such as separation from parents, physical harms, depravation and emotional distress.
Save the Children has distributed over 6,000 kits of relief items, including clothing, blankets and hygiene supplies. Teams of staff have already set up child-friendly spaces, where children have a safe place to play, learn and interact with their peers.
Save the Children has been working in the Philippines for 27 years.
Philippines Contacts: Gia-Marie Chu, gchu@savechildren.org, + 639 178 590759
Latha Caleb, lcaleb@savechildren.org, + 639 175 332100
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
A pregnant women (R), who was displaced by flooding brought on by typhoon Ketsana, wait for a pre-natal check-up by UNFPA medical workers, in a government hospital in Cainta Rizal, east ...
