WE HEARD this week UNICEF raise the warning that at least 14 million children, including those in the Philippines, face hunger and a heightened risk of malnutrition or death this year, after major international donors like the United States have slashed aid budgets.
The quick-witted United Nations children’s agency, which promotes children’s rights and well-being in over 190 countries and territories to provide humanitarian and developmental aid, immediately urged governments and philanthropic institutions to contribute to its Child Nutrition Fund to head off an starvation wave.
The Philippines (population 117 million), where 95 children die of malnutrition daily, is among countries vulnerable and faces a triple burden of malnutrition where undernutrition, “hidden hunger” or micronutrient deficiencies, and rising cases of childhood obesity coexist and affect communities nationwide.
These challenges, which can affect growth, development, and future opportunities, often hit children the hardest, according to health and nutrition authorities.
Apart from the daily toll, 27 out of 1,000 Filipino children do not get past their fifth birthday.
Malnutrition, particularly stunting (low height for age), is a significant challenge for children in the Philippines, with a high prevalence of undernutrition.
Despite having strong macroeconomic foundations and a solid policy environment, the Philippines is beleaguered by slow progress in health and nutrition.
The last decade has seen challenges in the delivery of services, particularly in primary health care for adolescents, pregnant women, newborn, and children as well as in resolving the triple burden of childhood malnutrition – stunting and wasting, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight and obesity – that has remained prevalent.
The country is also currently off-track in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 on maternal and neonatal deaths and has the second-highest rate of adolescent pregnancies among ASEAN nations.
Official figures suggest 26.7 per cent of children under 5 years old are stunted and some regions have more, like Bangsamoro Region at 39 per cent.
An estimated 672,000 children suffer from wasting with about 50 per cent under the age of 2 years while 23 per cent of pregnant women are anemic, leading to low birthweight and pre-term delivery.
Childhood overweight and obesity are rapidly increasing, and have tripled since 2003.
It is good the Philippine government is addressing child malnutrition through a multi-pronged approach, including the implementation of the “Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act” for a national feeding program, the “Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay” Act for enhanced nutrition services, and the Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Project with the UN, focusing on nutrition-specific and sensitive interventions.
The Department of Health, along with United Nations agency partners, UNICEF and the United Nations Office for Project Services, and World Bank have signed a memorandum of understanding formalizing the partnership in addressing malnutrition in the Philippines.