Globalization and its Effect on Filipino Infant Nutrition, c2006
Association for the Rights of Children in Southeast Asia (ARCSEA)
E-mail:arcsea@childrightssea.org

This study aims to establish the relationship between the implementation of macro globalization policies and the health and nutritional status of Filipino children. It also aims to: (1) establish globalization influences on policies pertaining to infant and young child nutrition in the Philippines, specifically, the following: (a) Philippine Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (Executive Order 51, also known as the Philippine Milk Code); (b) the Rooming-in and Breastfeeding Act (Republic Act 7600); (c) Department of Health and executive orders and issuances; (d) The ILO Convention 183 on Maternity Protection; (2) Identify specific agreements entered into by the Philippine government from 1996 to 2005 in terms of tariff reduction on infant milk formula and complementary foods under the WTO AoA; and (3) Trace the micro-level impact of the abovementioned policies and agreements on Filipino infants. The study hopes to identify trends in breastfeeding practices among mothers aged 30 to 40 years old in two barangays in Manila City over a span of ten years (from 1995 to 2004), among middle-class (monthly family income above PhP15,000) and urban poor families (monthly family income is below PhP15,000).