MANILA – As the country celebrates the 30th National Children’s Month, the Department of Social Welfare and Development on Thursday called for support as the government intensifies efforts to protect the youth’s mental health.
The welfare department will lead this year’s National Children’s Month (NCM) with the theme “Kalusugan, Kaisipan at Kapakanan ng Bawat Bata Ating Tutukan,” in collaboration with the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) and the National Youth Commission (NYC), which intends to prioritize the availability of interventions that would support the mental health and overall well-being of Filipino children.
Based on the reports from the National Center for Mental Health Crisis Hotline, 9.7 percent of the overall number of calls it received were suicide-related and many of them came from minors triggered by bullying, sadness, anxiety, stress caused by family problems, academic concerns, and others.
It was found out during last year’s celebration of NCM that mental health was one of the critical issues raised by children participants in the learning and consultation session initiated by the organizers.
The department and its partners have planned activities for this year’s celebration that will focus on providing mental support for children. The launch of the CWC MAKABATA helpline and the National Play Advocacy Week Partner’s Play Toolkit are included.
The relaunch of the mental literary works Sarilaysay and Eroplanong Papel, which are intended to help children cope with the changes brought on by the pandemic, will also be highlighted at the celebration.
The launch of video documentaries on the success stories of local government units in terms of child participation and the functionality of their respective Local Council for the Protection of Children will follow.
The month of November is declared as NCM under Republic Act 10661 to commemorate the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20, 1989.
The CRC, the first binding universal treaty solely dedicated to the protection and promotion of children’s rights, has the Philippines as a signatory.
