Mental health and well-being of children in the Philippine setting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has subjected the mental health and well-being of Filipino children under drastic conditions. While children are more vulnerable to these detriments, there remains the absence of unified and comprehensive strategies in mitigating the deterioration of the mental health of Filipino children. Existing interventions focus on more general solutions that fail to acknowledge the circumstances that a Filipino child is subjected under. Moreover, these strategies also fail to address the multilayered issues faced by a lower-middle-income country, such as the Philippines. As the mental well-being of Filipino children continues to be neglected, a subsequent and enduring mental health epidemic can only be expected for years to come.

Childhood Blindness: Beyond VISION 2020 and the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The World report on vision in 2019 found it difficult to evaluate VISION 2020's impact on childhood blindness and VI since data on prevalence and causes were scarce. Considering the high chance of the global initiative missing its desired goal in children, we recommend that a sustainable version of it be launched soon. Central to this new initiative shall be better data collection on prevalence and causes of childhood blindness and VI, eye care provision and an updated and uniform system of reporting. Complete and updated data can better reflect the burden and monitor the impact of interventions. However, data collection will continue to be difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic so the initial phase shall be tailored to the current situation.