For one month starting tomorrow, the Philippines, for the 30th year running, will celebrate the National Children’s Month with focus on the mental health and well-being of children.
We support the celebration across the country, themed “Kalusugan, Kaisipan, at Kapakanan ng Bawat Bata Ating Tutukan!” led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Council for the Welfare of Children, and National Youth Commission.
The celebration, decked by various activities, aims to raise public awareness on the initiatives that address the mental health needs of Filipino children and to disseminate accurate information to combat the negative stereotypes on mental health.
Because of the pandemic, the National Steering Committee on Children’s Rights Advocacy led by the CWC, in partnership with the DSWD and the NYC, enjoins other government agencies and non-government organizations to participate in, and conduct their own hybrid activities in line with the celebration to promote their programs and services on mental health for children.
We give our hand to DSWD for its continuing advocacy to address the plight, often glossed over, perhaps sans intention, of vulnerable sectors of Philippine society including those, but not limited to, the marginalized children once described as future leaders of the community.
And as we shift to higher gear in celebrating National Children’s Month, we look at the bulletin board raised by the Geneva-based World Health Organization and are flustered by the alarming particulars on rising mental health problems.
Good mental health is the state of well-being where an individual can deal with the daily challenges of life, enables the child to work productively, recognize his abilities so he can better contribute to the community.
However, the National Center for Mental Health has been alarmed that there is a growing mental health concern among Filipinos—even long before the COVID-19 pandemic stormed ashore in mid March of 2020.
In 2015, suicide became the second leading cause of death for 15 to 29 years old. It further reported that social media envy became a predictor of depression with High School students in the Philippines.
From January to March 2015, the Global School-Based Student Health Survey stated that 7 percent of high school students aged 13 to 15 years old have attempted to commit suicide, while 12 percent have seriously considered suicide attempts, and 11 percent have planned how they will conduct the suicide.
Suicide-related calls grew three times more over the course of the pandemic regardless of age, and the NCMH received an increase in the average daily calls from 32 to 27 in their Crisis Hotline.
In the overall number of calls, 9.7 percent is suicide-related and 251 of the callers were minors.
Most of the concerns of the callers cited stressful life incidents, feeling of sadness, finding someone to talk or rely to, feeling anxious, experiencing bullying in-person or in cyberspace, experiencing personal and family problems, abuse or violence, and concerns in academics among others.
Following the concerns experienced by the children since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council for the Welfare of Children with the Consuelo Foundation initiated the Kuwentuhan (Learning/Consultation Sessions with Children) during the 29th National Children’s Month in November 2021.
Laudable partnership which we feel is long-lasting.