TY - JOUR T1 - Mother-Baby Friendly Philippines: Using Citizen Reporting to Improve Compliance to the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes JF - Global Health: Science and Practice JO - GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT DO - 10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00071 VL - 10 IS - 1 SP - e2100071 AU - Kate Reinsma AU - Alfred Jose C. Ballesteros AU - Rene Andrew A. Bucu AU - Teddy S. Dizon AU - Nathan John U. Jumalon AU - Lorelane C. Ramirez AU - Czarina Anne A. Villareiz AU - Carleneth San Valentin AU - Maria Rosario S. Vergeire Y1 - 2022/02/28 UR - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/10/1/e2100071.abstract N2 - Any investments in improving platforms for reporting Code violations must simultaneously be matched with investments in government capacity to process reports and enforce Code violations.When working with multiple government agencies, a clear set of rules of procedure needs to be in place to guide the management of Code violations, provide feedback to citizen reporters on the status of their reports, and ensure that confidentiality is maintained at all levels.Policy makers and program managers should routinely meet with interagency committees to discuss Code violation statistics and exceptional or troublesome cases and identify which government entities are doing specific actions to address the violations across various levels of the government.Program designers should include features such as gamification or a point system to keep users interested and engaged. This could even be as simple as ensuring that users receive feedback on the status of their reports to assure them that their submitted reports are pursued.Introduction:In 1986, the Philippines was one of the first countries to pass national legislation on the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes in the form of Executive Order (EO) 51 and Republic Act (RA) 10028. While violations against the legislation and corresponding sanctions are clearly defined, infractions remain unreported or go unpunished. Enforcement of the laws remains a significant challenge as government capacities suffer from inadequate resources to regularly monitor breastfeeding-related law violations. To address these gaps, The Department of Health (Philippines) and the World Vision Development Foundation developed a reporting platform to enable citizen reporting of EO 51 and RA 10028 violations as part of the Mother-Baby Friendly Philippines (MBFP) initiative.Methods:Upon completion of the project, the Alliance for Improving Health Outcomes Inc. conducted 68 surveys and 24 key informant interviews and focus group discussions with individuals who participated in trainings on EO 51 and RA 10028, community health workers, representatives of local government units and hospitals involved in breastfeeding programs, and city health officials to document benefits, challenges, and lessons learned.Results:The intention and interest of consulted stakeholders to uphold the law by reporting violations through the platform indicate that citizen reporting can be harnessed as an effective tool for reporting violations. Nevertheless, multiple challenges remain in reporting and following up on Code violations.Discussion:The platform provided citizens with an opportunity to report violations, but, in reality, the status of action and feedback did not change. There is a need to strengthen implementation and enforcement at all levels of relevant national government agencies and improve feedback loops on reported violations. ER -