20% to 30% of Filipinos at risk of stunting – DOH

Around 20% to 30% of Filipinos are at risk of stunting, according to the Department of Health.

During the Senate Plenary session on Friday, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa shared that stunting or impaired growth or development had been high at 27% but is steadily decreasing through mitigation efforts.

“Stunting was high at 27% and we’re trying to lower it to 19-20%. We’re trying to lower it by having a program and we’re in coordination with other agencies… It was 44.5%, it is now 23.6%, the projection is [to reduce stunting by] 17.9% by 2028,” he shared.

Herbosa noted that stunting, often caused by malnutrition, often lead to brain stunting.

While it is easily manageable in the early years, it becomes irreversible the moment a child hits 6 years old.

During the session, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano had noted that issues on stunting had already been discussed in previous years but raised concern over an apparent lack of progress.

He also pointed out that there seemed to be a lack of urgency regarding addressing the issues.

“Pag may delay, you expect the Secretary to act on it, pero ito inabot na ng 2 to 3 years… We had a long discussion last year on stunting. Sinabi mo nga may new program and we’ll have progress next year,” Cayetano said.

(If there’s a delay, you expect the Secretary to act on it, but this is already taking 2 to 3 years… We had a long discussion last year on stunting. You even said there would be a new program and we’ll have progress next year.)

“Parang sa vaccines lang, bakit hindi niyo sinasabi sa amin kung ano ang problema?” he added.

(Just like with the vaccines, why didn’t you tell us what the problem was?)

Herbosa noted that stunting is primarily handled by National Nutrition Council (NNC) and the Zero Hunger Council, and shared that they are currently launching their “Tutok Kainan” program.

Under the NNC, the “Tutok Kainan” program is a dietary supplementation program designed to prevent stunting among children below 2 years old through improving the quality and quantity of a child’s food intake, and promotes positive nutrition behaviors to relevant beneficiaries.

DOH is seeking a total of P2.3 Billion to implement the said program.

Ongoing efforts vs. stunting

Herbosa said the steady decrease in the number of stunted children may result from universal feedings.

“Instead of identifying malnourished and undernourished, ginawa na lang universal ang feeding, (we just made the feeding universal.)” Herbosa shared.

He also shared that DOH had launched the Purok Kalusugan, which is a primary care program designed to bring medical services like immunization, oral health, maternal health, tuberculosis control program, nutrition, non-communicable disease prevention and control program, and environmental and sanitation services closer to local communities.

“We launched the Purok Kalusugan to address 8 things, of which Nutrition is a priority… We go to 5th-6th class municipalities,” he shared.

Cayetano had pointed out that there were less stunted children aged 6 months to 11 months, but more stunted children within the age of 1 to 2 years old.

He also added that feeding programs have been updated from 120 days to 180 days.

“We need a specific intervention [from] 11 months to 12 months to 24 months… I know it’s not easy that is why you need to do pilot [testing, because] may lugar tayo na 16% ang stunting prevalence pero may lugar din na 33%, (we have places where the stunting prevalence is only 16% but there are also places where it is 33%.)” Cayetano recommended.

In 2023, DOH reported that at least 29.5% of Filipino children under 5 years old are stunted.

They noted that stunting was often caused by an interplay of several factors like health education, livelihood, social welfare, and governance.

Health experts earlier noted that stunting may be fixed or resolved by placing focus on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life from conception up to 2 years old, ensuring proper nutrition during said period will prevent malnutrition, which often manifests as stunting, obesity, wasting, or micronutrient deficiency. — BAP, GMA Integrated News