Manila, Philippines

Philippine General Hospital (PGH)

Philippines is a densely populated, lower-middle income country in Southeast Asia. Malnutrition is endemic to the region with a high proportion of children under the recommended weight standards. The national prevalence of children under-five with stunting, wasting and overweight is 33.4%, 7.1% and 3.9%, respectively.  Malnutrition is highly prevalent among older children and adolescents (33.5% undernutrition) with a growing population of obesity. The estimated total incidence of childhood cancers in Southeast Asia during 2015 was around 30,079. The crude rate for childhood cancer in the Philippines is 103 annual new cases per million children, which is in contrast to the expected rate of 165 per million children. Approximately 3,600 new cases of childhood cancer are reported each year.

IIPAN Center & Collaborators

Front view of Philippine General Hospital

The IIPAN site for Philippines is the Philippine General Hospital, a tertiary state-owned hospital and the largest training hospital in the country, where approximately 400 new cases of childhood cancer are diagnosed each year. The mission of PGH is to provide specialized medical treatment to indigent Filipinos. PGH provides pediatric cancer care in the inpatient, outpatient, long-term care facilities. In each of these settings, IIPAN is an integral partner in advancing nutritional care for the patients served.

The implementation of the IIPAN nutrition program is overseen by Drs. Amy Dy and Marciel Pedro, the IIPAN collaborating physicians developing an evidence-based nutrition program for the site. Importantly, Drs. Dy and Pedro are simultaneously advancing nutrition education initiatives throughout the Philippines through the Philippine Society of Pediatric Oncology. Additionally, the IIPAN nutritionist works alongside the hospital’s nutrition team to ensure that all patients in the inpatient and outpatient setting received optimal nutritional care.  

Site Challenges

  • Limited or no access to academic of continuing professional development in nutrition.
  • Limited access to essential nutritional supplies.
  • Support to establish a nutrition education program for patients and their families throughout the spectrum of cancer care.
  • High reliance on homemade formulas in all clinical settings.
  • Lack of structure for nutritional assessment.

Site Needs

kids at a hospital social event
  • Consistent supplies for medical nutrition therapy, including RUTF, F-75, F-100, specialized formulas and multivitamin micronutrient powder.
  • Limited to no access to nutrition-specific laboratory indices.
  • Supplies for educational initiatives for health care providers, patients, and their families.
  • Development of home-based feeds, and protocols for deviations from the standard-of-care, when indicated.

(Image Source: www.rcmanila.org)