Section 2
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. The right to health is a fundamental principle guaranteed by the State. Section 15, Article II of the 1987 Constitution emphasizes that "The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them". Moreover, pursuant to various international human rights instruments and agreements that the State adheres to, the State guarantees the right to adequate food, care and nutrition to pregnant and lactating mothers, including adolescent girls, women of reproductive age, and especially children from zero (0) to two (2) years old. Furthermore, the State commits to the Philippine Development Plan and the national plans on nutrition to contribute to the improvement of the quality of human resource in the country, and the reduction of maternal and child mortality and stunting. The State declares its determination to eliminate hunger and reduce all forms of malnutrition. The State further maintains that ensuring healthy lives, promoting well-being, ending hunger and food insecurity, and achieving good nutrition for all at all ages are essential to the attainment of sustainable development. As such, the State prioritizes nutrition for adolescent females, pregnant and lactating women, infants and young children, to he implemented in an integrated manner by all branches of government, using a whole-of-government approach in collaboration with civil society organizations and the private sector. Towards this end, the State scales up nutrition intervention programs in the first one thousand (1,000) days of a child's life, and allocates resources in a sustainable manner to improve the nutritional status and to address the malnutrition of infants and young children from zero (0) to two (2) years old, adolescent females, pregnant and lactating women, as well as to ensure growth and development of infants and young children.