ANTIPOLO CITY, April 15 –- The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday launched the Garantisadong Pambata (GP) 2009 campaign here as the government’s vanguard in reducing the estimated 82,000 Filipino children aged five and below who die each year.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who led the GP-09 campaign titled “9 Ways to Save Your Child,” said the statistics translates to 42 child deaths per 1,000 live births.

“Most of them die because of neonatal-related factors; some from preventable pneumonia and diarrhea; some by injuries and measles; but under nutrition accounts more than half of all child deaths,” Duque said in his speech.

“That is why we launched the GP-09 campaign so we can recommend and advocate the full implementation of the nine essential child survival package in all local government units nationwide,” he added.

The nine ways under the GP-09 are: 1) skilled attendance by health professionals during pregnancy, delivery and immediate postpartum; 2) care of the newborn; 3) breastfeeding and complementary feeding; 4) micronutrient supplementation and deworming; 5) immunization of children and mothers; 6) integrated management of sick children; 7) child injury prevention and control; birth spacing, and; 9) proper personal hygiene.

Duque said the nine measures are existing low-cost, low-technology and high impact interventions that can be prevent under five and maternal deaths as well as reduce under nutrition.

“I advise mothers to bring their children to the nearest government health facilities to avail of the GP package of services,” he declared.

The DOH chief said he went with several health teams to conduct rounds in different region nationwide to assess the health situation of people living in impoverished societies.

“We want to bring the Garantisadong Pambansa campaign to poor communities especially those that are in remote areas, the poorest provinces and municipalities. So that’s why we chose the province of Rizal to begin the program with,” he said.

For his part, Rizal Governor Casimiro Ynares III cited the DOH’s campaign as a “timely and long overdue program” which suits the needs of his constituents especially in Montalban which is now known as Rodriguez town.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo recently signed into law the P1.414 trillion national budget for 2009 for public spending, of which P27.9 billion was allotted to the DOH.

“We have an increased budget of 41 percent compared to the previous year. I can assure you that this infusion of new funds will be spent wisely to better the health of our countrymen,” Duque said.

Meanwhile, the DOH also called on local government units and health workers to look for some 500,000 “missed children” aged five and below who have not received free immunization from the government.

Dr. Yolanda Oliveros, director of the DOH-National Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said the DOH has allotted a P862-million budget for immunization and vitamins for children belonging to the impoverished sector.

Oliveros encouraged health workers to actively look for “missed children” for them to receive the needed vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis, pertussis, pneumococcal infections, mumps, measles and rubella.

For pregnant and newly born mothers, she said they should receive five vaccines of tetanus toxiod which should be administered twice during pregnancy, and once during the next three years after giving birth.

According to the DOH, the free immunization and vitamins distribution is done very week in health center. However, some children still do not receive the package from the government either because they are located in remote areas or parents to not bring them to public health facilities.

Oliveros explained the urgency for immunization as the DOH targets some 3.6 million children to receive packages from the government for micronutrition and deworming.

The DOH said it is working very hard in pushing the needed health sector reforms in order sustain the gains in child health.

The government is also doing its best to further improve maternal health in the country which is closely linked with health and welfare of Filipino children.