The Philippines may be moving up the income ladder, but one in four Filipino children remains stunted, underscoring deep inequalities that hinder the country’s human development.
This was the key message from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and UNICEF Philippines as they launched their new book, “Raising the Bar: Understanding and Solving Chronic Malnutrition in the Philippines,” on October 16.
“Economic growth alone does not automatically lead to better nutritional outcomes,” said PIDS President Dr. Philip Arnold P. Tuaño.
He emphasized that progress in child nutrition requires targeted, well-designed, and well-financed interventions that reach the most vulnerable populations, beginning with maternal health and well-being.
Book editor and PIDS Senior Research Fellow Dr. Valerie Gilbert T. Ulep expanded on this point, noting that the Philippines’ child nutrition indicators still resemble those of poorer countries despite its upper-middle-income trajectory.
“When your economy increases, you will raise revenues and will have affordable borrowing for health and nutrition. But growth improves nutrition only if resources are allocated and executed well towards cost-effective, evidence-based intervention, and these resources are distributed equitably,” he said.
Ulep presented data showing that health spending at the local level remains largely unresponsive to income growth, with a 1 percent increase in local government revenue leading to only a 0.27 percent rise in per capita health spending.
“Even when national transfers to local governments increase, there’s no guarantee the added funds will go to nutrition or health,” he explained.
He added that spending priorities often favor less cost-effective programs, such as school feeding, while maternal and early childhood nutrition—where interventions yield the highest long-term impact—remain underfunded.
UNICEF Philippines Representative Ms. Kyungsun Kim echoed this, saying chronic malnutrition stems from systemic problems, not just poverty or lack of food.
“True progress means taking to scale proven impact, climate-resilient, shock-responsive interventions to prevent stunting and other forms of malnutrition in early years of life,” Kim said.
The sum of unequal systems
PIDS Senior Research Specialist Mr. Lyle Daryll D. Casas said weaknesses in governance, food systems, sanitation, and social protection combine to create unequal nutrition outcomes.
In 2023, about 24% or 2.6 million Filipino children under five were stunted, with rates reaching four in ten among the poorest households.
Many of these children, the study found, also suffer from “food poverty,” as 62% do not meet minimum dietary diversity standards.
“Chronic malnutrition is the sum of unequal systems,” Casas said.
“Raising the bar means ensuring that every child in the Philippines, regardless of where they are born, can grow healthy, nourished, and with an equal chance to thrive,” he added.
Fixing financing and governance gaps
UNICEF Nutrition Manager Ms. Alice Nkoroi commended the book for shedding light on persistent inequities in child nutrition and the urgent need for systemic reform.
“Only about one in ten children consume what we would call a nutritious diet, which is really, really low,” she said, warning of the growing problem of unhealthy food consumption and rising childhood obesity.
“Unless we are tracking the resources, we will not know where they are going,” she added, urging stronger local governance, resource tracking, and multi-sectoral collaboration to improve nutrition outcomes.
Building on this, Dr. Maria Asuncion A. Silvestre of the EDCOM 2–Early Childhood Care and Development Standing Committee and Kalusugan ng Mag-ina, Inc., and Department of Health (DOH) Supervising Health Program Officer Ms. Jennilyn S. Ygaña both stressed the need for coherent and coordinated implementation of nutrition programs.
“We target stunting reduction, yet our school feeding programs measure wasting instead,” Silvestre observed.
“We’re spending billions on interventions that don’t align with our goals—and we’re relying on data from teachers who have not been properly trained to take precise measurements,” she added.
Ygaña added that nutrition cannot be separated from public health:
“There is no dichotomy between health and nutrition. They share the same determinants, and addressing nutrition is essentially addressing the country’s long-standing health problems,” she said.
She explained that while interventions during the first 1,000 days are critical, national reforms often fail to translate effectively at the local level.
Ygaña also noted that many LGUs struggle to sustain nutrition initiatives once donor-funded projects end, resulting in uneven implementation and missed opportunities to scale up successful models.
Both discussants called for stronger local implementation, adequate training, sustained support beyond donor-funded programs, and a life-stage approach to achieve lasting reductions in stunting.
Bridging policy and practice
In closing, Dr. Miguel Carl D. Dino, speaking on behalf of DOH Disease Prevention and Control Bureau Director Dr. Anna Marie Celina G. Garfin, emphasized the need for unified, long-term action.
“Our shared mission is to patiently and persistently transform this rigorous research into sustained, meaningful, and collective action,” Dino said.
“Together, we will keep raising the bar until every child in the Philippines has a fair and fighting chance to reach their fullest and brightest potential,” he concluded.
Watch the recording of the launch at https://bit.ly/pidslive101625 and download the book at https://bit.ly/RaisingtheBarBook. ### —RTG
