Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals completes a 100 liver transplants in children from the Philippines

Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Delhi has reached the landmark of performing 100 liver transplants in children from the Philippines. Aged between 4 months and 15 years, children suffering from various diseases that had resulted in liver failure necessitating a transplant have received a liver transplant.

Despite COVID posing several challenges in the last 2 years, Apollo made sure that children and their families were provided end-to-end assistance in terms of aligning travel permissions while also ascertaining patient safety by arranging special charter flights with a medical team on board to manage any emergencies.

Mr P Shivakumar, Managing Director – Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, asserted: “Apollo Hospitals leads the way in delivering cross-border care for children. Our approach is aligned with Apollo’s overarching objective of providing prompt delivery of healthcare services, notwithstanding myriad constraints. This becomes even more important when it comes to caring for children. We believe there is no greater joy than seeing the smiles of children who have been saved by our timely medical intervention.”

Group Medical Director and Senior Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Apollo Hospitals Group – Dr (Prof) Anupam Sibal, stated: “Apollo Hospitals has been receiving children with liver failure from Philippines for the last five years. Fortunately, we have been able to help many families from different parts of Philippines.

We would like to thank families for their trust as we mark the landmark of 100 liver transplants in babies and children from Philippines. Despite COVID restrictions, we have transplanted 53 children in the last 2 years. The youngest child to be operated on was 4 months. Significantly, babies weighing barely 3.5kgs have also had liver transplants at Apollo Hospitals. Our initiative has been facilitated by the immense support from the Embassies which helped in easing travel formalities for patients. The Apollo Liver Transplant Program, the first successful program in India which was established in 1998 has now performed more than 3950 liver transplants including 458 in children from 20 countries”.

Senior Liver Transplant Surgeon at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Dr. Neerav Goyal, said, "In liver transplant, surgery is performed when patients have a high risk of dying from their disease in the ensuing weeks to months. Since COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon, many of these patients were unlikely to survive the period of the pandemic without liver transplant, and the patients despite several challenges travelled to us. We are happy that we can help them in easing their pain and provided a new lease of life. In 65% of children, the donors were mothers, in 30 % fathers and 5 % other blood relatives.”

About Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals: Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, India’s first JCI accredited hospital, is a joint venture between the Government of Delhi and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited. Commissioned in July 1996, it is the third super-specialty tertiary care hospital set up by the Apollo Hospitals Group. Spread over 15 acres, it houses 57 specialties with more than 300 specialists and more than 700 operational beds, 19 operation theatres, 138 ICU beds, round-the-clock pharmacy, NABL accredited laboratories, 24-hour emergency services and an active air ambulance service. Apollo Hospitals Delhi has the leading programmed in kidney and liver transplant in the country. The first successful pediatrics and adult liver transplants in India were performed at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. The hospital is at the forefront of medical technology and expertise. It provides a complete range of latest diagnostic, medical and surgical facilities for the care of its patients. The Hospital has introduced the most sophisticated imaging technology to India with the introduction of 64 slice CT and 3 Tesla MRI, Novalis Tx and the integrated PET Suite. Indraprastha Apollo has also pioneered the concept of preventive health check programmed and has created a satisfied customer base over decades. The Hospital has been consistently ranked amongst the best 10 hospitals in India by The Week survey for the past few years.

Hospital website - https://delhi.apollohospitals.com/

Twitter: @HospitalsApollo

A mother’s love for children with disabilities

Mothers Donna Lim, Alex Arroyo and Juliet Brecino are great inspirations for many families across the country. These women have been helping parents wade through the high waters of raising children with disabilities as they, too, are raising children with disabilities of their own. And doing so is certainly not made easy due to the COVID-19 pandemic that pose a threat especially to these children who typically have challenged immune systems.

With the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon and other parts of the country to contain the spread of the virus, disruptions to daily routine became an inevitable reality for countless Filipinos.

   (Mommy Donna with her daughter Desly)

One challenge that Mommy Donna is currently experiencing is ensuring that the daily routine of her daughter Desly who is on the autism spectrum, stay as consistent as possible, because any changes to their day-to-day activities can affect the behavior of her daughter.

“If they notice that something is not part of their usual routine, they become worried. It may even upset them,” says Donna.

To mitigate this, she has been helping Desly understand that they have to change the way they go through their day so that they can stay safe and healthy.

      (Mommy Alex with her daughter Aria)

On the other hand, with the “new normal” demanding cleanliness more than ever, the challenge for Mommy Alex is getting her daughter with special needs, Aria, to practice proper personal hygiene. This is why her family has been diligently following ECQ rules, so that Aria can learn by example.

“We definitely follow ECQ rules strictly. We stay at home and we only go out for essentials, and if we do, we ensure that we are wearing facemasks, face shields, and even gloves sometimes. And the moment that we get home, we disinfect. We take a shower.”

               (Mommy Juliet with son JM)


Strictly following ECQ rules is a must in order for children with disabilities to avoid getting sick. Aside from this, parents must also ensure that these children are eating healthy, just like what Mommy Juliet is doing with her son JM who is visually-impaired, whose passion is signing Broadway songs and joining singing contests.

“I make sure he eats vegetables and I always give him vitamins,” says Juliet.

As the world celebrates Mother’s Day with this global health crisis in the background, these moms are focusing on the most important thing – the health, safety and well-being of their children, showered with the kind of love and care that only a mother can give.

Knowing the important roles that they play in the lives of their children, Donna, Alex and Juliet are doing everything they can to protect their loved ones.

Their selfless dedication to motherhood is something that should be celebrated, which is why, this Mother’s Day, SM Cares honors all mothers, especially those who are raising children with special needs.

“SM Cares understands the challenges of parents – especially mothers of children with disabilities. Their immense love and sacrifice for their children is something that we truly admire. We wish them the best of blessings, especially for this year’s Mother’s Day celebration,” said Engr. Bien Mateo, Head of the SM Cares Program on Persons with Disabilities.

To know more about SM Cares, you may visit http://www.smsupermalls.com

UNICEF offers Basket of Hope for Christmas

In the spirit of the Christmas season, UNICEF Philippines recently launched Basket of Hope – an online campaign to give meaningful gifts to help children in need.

Said campaign enables people to give something different this Christmas while supporting a cause.

For every donation of P500 to the UNICEF Basket of Hope, an individual can help provide children with treatments for malnutrition, or education supplies, or access to clean water and hygiene essentials. The donation will go directly to children most urgently in need at the time of giving.

For education, a basket can provide backpacks and school supplies. For health, children will be given life-saving treatment and ready-to-eat therapeutic food packs. For water, sanitation, and hygiene, children will get access to clean water and hygiene supplies during emergencies.

The UNICEF Basket of Hope campaign is led by UNICEF’s three Goodwill Ambassadors Gary Valenciano, Daphne Oseña-Paez, and Anne Curtis, and with the support of other celebrities and influencers.

To know more about the Basket of Hope and to make a donation, visit https://bit.ly/2O4XZD8.

Online bullying remains prevalent in the Philippines, other countries

One in three young people in 30 countries said they have been a victim of online bullying, with one in five saying they skipped school due to cyberbullying and violence, according to a new poll released today by UNICEF, the United Nations organization working for children’s rights.
In the Philippines, latest national data show that cyberviolence affects almost half of children aged 13-17. The prevalence of cyberviolence for males (44 per cent) is almost the same for females (43 per cent).
One-third of cyberviolence experienced by Filipino children are in the form of verbal abuse over the internet or cellphone, while a fourth are through sexual messages. More females received messages of sexual nature or content than males. However, twice as many males than females reported having their nude body or sexual activities, whether real or falsified, shown on the internet or cellphone.

Violence against children, in all forms including online bullying or cyberbullying, has devastating effects on the physical and emotional wellbeing of young people. This can create lasting emotional and psychological scars, even physical harm. It is particularly challenging to address since children are vulnerable and have easy access to the internet, making them easy targets of online violence.

In the UNICEF U-Report poll conducted in June 2019, almost three-quarters of young people from 30 countries said that social networks including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter are the most common platforms for online bullying. Being connected online means that school no longer ends once a student leaves class, and neither does bullying.

The U-Report further revealed that 32 per cent believe that the government is mainly responsible in addressing online bullying, 31 per cent said that young people are responsible, while 29 per cent said internet companies. These show that opinions are equally divided on who should be responsible for ending online bullying – highlighting the need to involve children and young people in the shared responsibility.

UNICEF is calling for urgent action to implement policies that will protect children and young people from bullying – both online and offline. Addressing the problem requires action from all of us.
Establishing and equipping national helplines to support children and young people in reporting violence is a concrete step. Training teachers and parents to respond to and prevent bullying will ensure the safety of children and young people, particularly the most vulnerable ones.
Gathering better data about the online behavior of children and young people, and how criminals are using the internet, will guide policies and action plans.

UNICEF is also urging social media and social networking service companies to improve ethical standards and practices in collecting and managing information of children.

With You Through Every Tomorrow: How Wyeth Nutrition nourishes a healthier generation

To empower parents in providing their children with the foundation they need to build a healthier future, Wyeth Nutrition has released “With You Through Every Tomorrow,” a video to inspire parents with the promise of the future, and the different ways in which the company’s brands can help nourish healthier tomorrows for their children.

“With You Through Every Tomorrow” shows typical Filipino families in familiar settings going through the ups and downs of the parenting journey – a couple going through the wonders of pregnancy; a child’s determined attempts to perfect a craft; a parent’s steady and guiding hand throughout a child’s learning journey; and a parent’s pride with a child’s every achievement.   In the background, an original musical composition captures the bond between a parent and a child, made stronger with the promise of every tomorrow.

The video was developed as part of Wyeth Nutrition’s efforts to help parents understand their roles in addressing the nutritional requirements of their children to help them reach their full potential and live healthier lives. It gently reminds parents of the importance of their presence and support, as well as that of proper nutrition.

“Wyeth Nutrition is an expert in nutrition that Filipino parents have always trusted, and through this video, we hope to remind parents that we remain their committed partner in bringing up their children to be healthy and ready for the challenges of the future,” said Migs Marfori, Wyeth Nutrition’s Creative Content Manager.

Backed by its expertise in nutrition innovation, Wyeth Nutrition offers solutions that meet the evolving needs of children and their families, drawing from its expertise in understanding and providing for their nutritional needs. In so doing, Wyeth Nutrition hopes to nourish healthier tomorrows for Filipino families for generations to come.

“We are committed to advancing nutrition innovation by developing high-quality nutritional products that are scientifically designed to address the changing needs of Filipino families,” said Miko Acuña, Wyeth Nutrition’s Head of Communications.

Watch this heartwarming video to gain a little inspiration, as together, we nourish healthier tomorrows for our children. Check out their official Youtube and Facebook pages.

SaferKidsPH Program brings together a consortium of child rights advocates collaborating with the government, civil society, and private sector

Online child abuse is the leading cybercrime in the Philippines. New technologies, such as live streaming, are putting more Filipino children at risk of sexual abuse.

 #SaferKidsPH consortium members at the ceremonial signing: L-R: Atty Albert Muyot, Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children Philippines; Ambassador Steven Robinson AO, Australian Ambassador to the Philippines; Julia Rees, UNICEF Representative, a.i.; and Sam Chittick, Country Representative of The Asia Foundation.

Australia is committed to advancing the rights of children and protecting them from exploitation, abuse, and violence. That is why the Australian Embassy in the Philippines has initiated the SaferKidsPH Program, a six year, AUD 8 million (PhP 298 million) commitment.

“Addressing online sexual exploitation and abuse of children is a global concern. SaferKidsPH reinforces our commitment to support the Philippine government’s efforts to address this complex form of human trafficking. SaferKidsPH will also work with the private sector and the community to develop the best solutions for a safer online environment for every Filipino child,” says Ambassador Steven Robinson AO, Australian Ambassador to the Philippines.
The program will provide grants to the Australian Federal Police, and the UNICEF-led consortium, which includes The Asia Foundation and Save the Children Philippines.

“Filipino children have a massive presence online. One in three Internet users is a child. While the Government has been trying to respond to the demand, breadth, scope, and agility of the technology — not to mention the extreme accessibility of digital platforms — there must be more that we can do together to protect our children,” says Julia Rees, UNICEF Representative, a.i.
The National Baseline Survey on Violence Against Children shows that nearly one in two children aged 13-17 experienced cyber violence.  Atty Albert Muyot, Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children Philippines said the involvement of local government units, and community members, both adults and children, are key to protecting children from online sexual exploitation. “Children especially those in deprived situations are at risk of falling prey to online sexual exploitation. We need to increase public vigilance to prevent and reduce incidents of OSEC by strengthening child protection systems at the local level,” says Muyot.

The Consortium will support the Philippine government’s national plans, including the National Response Plan to Address Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children led by the DSWD Inter-Agency Council Against Child Pornography, and the Philippine Plan of Action to End Violence Against Children led by the Council for the Welfare of Children.

Sam Chittick, Country Representative of The Asia Foundation said this consortium combines the networks and expertise of  UNICEF, Save the Children and the Asia Foundation together with the Australian Embassy to ensure that the voice of Filipino children navigating the justice system in the Philippines is heard, and together we can help break down barriers to access to justice.”

Aligned with the government’s goal to end violence against children by 2025, SaferKidsPH will involve children, parents, schools, local groups, businesses, and media to promote online safety. It will strengthen investigation, prosecution and adjudication of cybercrime cases. It will also improve services to protect children in target hotspots.