The Rationale

ADVANCING CHILD HEALTH THROUGH LITERACY AND EDUCATION

More than thirty years to the day, former Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Halfdan Mahler, spearheaded the International Conference on Primary Health Care in Alma Ata. The Declaration of Alma Ata was a formal commitment by health ministers from 134 nations to a “Health for All” policy, reaffirming that health, which is a state of co mplete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, is a fundamental human right and that the attainment of the highest possible level of health is a most important world-wide social goal whose realization requires the action of many other social and economic sectors in addition to the health sector.

This ground-breaking declaration acknowledges that the determinants of health involve initiatives and interventions beyond the medical and health sectors. It explicitly prescribes community participation and intersectoral collaboration as the central means through which health inequities are to be addressed. In so doing, the Declaration of Alma Ata set the foundation for the evolution of modern health promotion.

With these in mind, the Gawad Panitikang Pangkalusugan was conceptualized as a tangible reaffirmation and realization of the principles stipulated in Alma Ata. More than a simple health advocacy campaign, the project aims to improve literacy among Filipino children through various post-competition literacy programs, recognizing the indelible impact of education and literacy on the people’s health and well-being.

THE PROJECT

The Gawad Panitikang Pangkalusugan is a NATIONWIDE children's storybook writing competition with HEALTH as the main theme. Entries written in English are geared to bring into light health issues and concepts to Filipino children aged five (5) to ten (10) years old. It challenges participants to break away from a clinical, straightforward and sanitized presentation of health and to mold it in a form that is enjoyable and of interest for its young audience. All Filipino citizens of legal age and currently residing in the Philippines are eligible to participate.

The project not only seeks to raise relevant health issues to the national consciousness, it also carries an advocacy for literacy and education, even as it celebrates Filipino ingenuity and culture. This project is the first of its kind in the country.

THE IMPACT

Children’s stories have been an integral component of the Filipino’s larger culture throughout history, especially with regards to his manner of upbringing. It has been a means with which youths are indoctrinated into the rules and mores of society, as well as a method by which the world is explained to them for the first time. In their own charming and unassuming way, these stories are what end up shaping the Filipino’s views and beliefs, thus leaving the strongest impressions.

These insights, however, stand in parallel with the rising dearth in pertinent reading materials for the larger population. Hence, the project shall, in its own way, bridge the gap between nominal literacy, and extent of essential knowledge, in the hopes of addressing certain inadequacies with regards to people’s perceptions on health and disease prevention. Its accessible, entertaining, and familiar format makes it easy to deliver this information to youths on such a formative age. Also, as a reliable instrument for child-rearing, both parent and child would be enticed into discussing and tackling these health matters amongst themselves. The mother or father then ends up educating themselves as much as their offspring.

CONTEST OBJECTIVES

• To raise public awareness on relevant health topics concerning the pediatric age group
• To instill proper health-seeking behavior in the young, as well as among their parents and caregivers
• To create a viable medium of instruction that is both informative and entertaining
• To provide an avenue by which doctors may easily convey information regarding health issues to young children
• To address the knowledge, attitudes and practices of the general public that are detrimental to health
• To encourage parents and older siblings to actively involve themselves in the health education of the children
• To promote literacy among the youth and create an impetus for expanding further the literature industry in the country
• To promote literacy and education in the context of holistic health and optimal child development
• To highlight Philippine culture and creativity through a medium that can be appreciated by a young audience