The Filipino Child of the Millennium National Plan of Action for Children 2005 – 2010

It has been more than a decade since the Philippines ratified the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in July 1990. This landmark treaty set in motion a series of historic efforts in the country and the rest of the world to consciously develop, implement and monitor various programs and other interventions geared towards the protection and development of children as a unique and critical sector of society.

In response to the ratification of the CRC, the Philippines, through the Council for the Welfare of
Children (CWC), then set out to formulate the Philippine Plan of Action for Children (PPAC) with a time frame concluding in the year 2002.

The new millennium ushered in a world with a radically different social, economic, technological,
and political fabric that brought with it fresh hopes and challenges. It was in this context that
the country concretized its vision for the nation’s children and articulated this in the Philippine
National Strategic Framework for Plan Development for Children (2000 – 2025), more
popularly known as Child 21. In addition to defining the country’s vision for its children, Child
21 also puts forth a framework and roadmap for child protection and development designed to
guide and rationalize all efforts for children in the Philippines.