MANILA—One in four Filipino children remains stunted despite the Philippines’ move toward upper-middle-income status, underscoring deep inequalities that hinder human development, according to a new book from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and UNICEF Philippines.
The book, “Raising the Bar: Understanding and Solving Chronic Malnutrition in the Philippines,” launched on October 16, argues that economic growth alone is insufficient to improve nutritional outcomes. Progress requires targeted, well-designed and well-financed interventions that prioritize the most vulnerable, starting with maternal health and well-being.
“Economic growth alone does not automatically lead to better nutritional outcomes,” said PIDS president Philip Arnold Tuaño.
Valerie Gilbert Ulep, book editor and PIDS senior research fellow, noted that the country’s child nutrition indicators still resemble those of poorer nations, despite its economic trajectory.
Ulep said that growth only improves nutrition if resources are allocated and executed well toward cost-effective, evidence-based, and equitably distributed interventions.
Data showed that in 2023, about 24 percent, or 2.6 million, Filipino children under five were stunted, with rates reaching four in ten among the poorest households. About 62 percent of these children do not meet minimum dietary diversity standards, suffering from “food poverty.”
Data presented by Ulep showed that health spending at the local level is largely unresponsive to income growth. A one percent increase in local government revenue leads to only a zero point twenty-seven percent rise in per capita health spending. This is exacerbated by spending priorities that often favor less cost-effective programs, such as school feeding, while essential maternal and early childhood nutrition programs remain underfunded.
UNICEF Philippines Representative Kyungsun Kim echoed this, saying that 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.
Chronic malnutrition is the “sum of unequal systems” combining weaknesses in governance, food systems, sanitation and social protection, according to PIDS senior research specialist Lyle Daryll Casas.
Experts also highlighted a disconnect between national goals and local implementation. Department of Health supervising health program officer Jennilyn Yñaga said nutrition could not be separated from public health, as they share the same determinants.
Maria Asuncion Silvestre of the EDCOM 2–Early Childhood Care and Development Standing Committee and Kalusugan ng Mag-ina Inc., said that some programs measure wasting, which is short-term undernutrition, instead of stunting reduction, which is the long-term goal. She noted that billions of pesos are spent on interventions that do not align with national goals, sometimes relying on data from improperly trained personnel.
UNICEF nutrition manager Alice Nkoroi urged stronger local governance, resource tracking and multi-sectoral collaboration to improve outcomes, noting that only about one in ten children consumes a nutritious diet.
She also warned of the growing problem of unhealthy food consumption and rising childhood obesity. Both Yñaga and Silvestre called for stronger local implementation, adequate training and sustained support beyond donor-funded projects to achieve lasting stunting reductions.
 highlights that one in four Filipino children remains stunted, calling for smarter, targeted investments in maternal and early childhood nutrition to address deep systemic inequalities despite the country's economic growth.){kind=link}