Legarda calls for stronger action as child stunting rises

Sen. Loren Legarda —Photo from her office MANILA, Philippines — No education reform can fully succeed while Filipino children continue to suffer from chronic malnutrition during their earliest years, Sen. Loren Legarda said in a statement issued on Tuesday as she called for stronger government action to fight child stunting. Legarda called for stronger coordination among national government agencies, local government units, schools, communities, and the private sector to fully implement nutrition and early childhood development programs, strengthen maternal healthcare, improve access to nutritious food, and ensure that every Filipino family benefits from the protections envisioned under the First 1,000 Days Law. Citing data from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology, Legarda said stunting among children under five rose from 23.6 percent to 25.3 percent, or about one in every four Filipino children, marking the first increase in the country’s stunting rate in a decade Article continues after this advertisement The FNRI figures, highlighted by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), show that nearly one in every four Filipino children under five is stunted, a 1.7-percentage-point jump from 2023 that reverses a downward trend that had held since 2015. READ: Child stunting rise highlights urgency of House nutrition bill – Dy Lasting effects of stunting Stunting, caused by chronic undernutrition, has lasting effects on a child’s physical growth, brain development, learning capacity, and future productivity, Legarda stressed. Data also reveal how uneven the crisis is across the country. Stunting rates are higher in rural areas at 27.8 percent compared to 23.2 percent in urban areas, with the highest rate recorded in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao at 36 percent, followed by the Zamboanga Peninsula at 34.6 percent, the Negros Island Region at 30.9 percent, and Mimaropa at 30.3 percent. Article continues after this advertisement Legarda noted that these numbers suggest that families in the most underserved and remote parts of the country carry the heaviest weight of the crisis, and that any response must reach them first. Stunting persists among school-age kids The senator also pointed out that the damage does not end at age five. Article continues after this advertisement FNRI also found that stunting persists in 18.9 percent of school-age children between 5 and 10 years old, and in 21.4 percent of adolescents aged 10 to 19. These figures suggest that many children carry the effects of early malnutrition through their entire basic education. “When we talk about the education crisis, we often think of classrooms, teachers, and books. But the first barrier to learning may start even before a child goes to school. If a child grows up lacking nutrition, it’s not only growth that’s affected, but also the ability to learn, to understand, to dream, and get ahead in life,” Legarda said. The country’s efforts to address learning poverty must begin with ensuring that children receive adequate nutrition from the earliest stages of life, she stressed. “The first 1,000 days of a child’s life, from pregnancy until the age of two, lay the foundation for lifelong learning and development. If we cannot give importance to this period, it’s harder to chase the opportunities lost. The fight against stunting is a fight for the future of every Filipino child,” Legarda said. READ: Study: 1 in 4 Filipino kids under age 5 stunted – News Inseparable link between nutrition and education Legarda has long championed policies that recognize the inseparable link between nutrition, health, and education. As author and co-sponsor of the Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act (Republic Act No. 11148), she pushed for the institutionalization of a comprehensive national strategy that would provide health and nutrition interventions during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, widely recognized as the most critical period for physical and cognitive development. Building on this reform, Legarda is the principal author of Senate Bill No. 792, or the proposed Breast Milk Banking Act, to establish a National Breast Milk Banking Strategy, expand regional human milk banks and satellite facilities nationwide, and ensure the safe collection, screening, processing, storage, and distribution of donated breast milk. The measure aims to make safe donor breast milk accessible to infants who cannot receive an adequate supply from their own mothers, with priority determined according to medical and nutritional need. She has also filed Senate Bill No. 1853 or the proposed K to 3 Foundational Learning and Nurturing Care Act, which seeks to strengthen literacy, numeracy, socio-emotional learning, and values formation from Kindergarten to Grade 3 while ensuring that health, nutrition, and responsive caregiving remain integral to every child’s learning journey. Recognizing that stunting is also driven by unstable access to affordable, nutritious food, Legarda principally authored Senate Bill No. 2051, or the proposed Local Harvest Support Act, which can support school-based feeding and nutrition programs, including DepEd’s School-Based Feeding Program and hospital dietary services, to source food from farmers and fisherfolk within or near their communities. The measure also establishes a National Rescue-Buy Program to stabilize farmgate prices during market disruptions, ensuring that families, particularly in rural and underserved areas where stunting rates are highest, have consistent access to fresh, affordable produce. “In many villages, the parents of these children are farmers and fishers. If schools buy from them, we can properly feed the children and the earnings of their families so that they can have nutritious food at home. This is the cycle we want to address,” Legarda said. Throughout her years in the Senate, Legarda has consistently advocated for greater investments in maternal and child health, school-based nutrition programs, food security, and quality education, recognizing that these are interconnected pillars of human development. Legarda said that investing in nutrition is essential to building a healthier, more educated, and more productive nation, as chronic malnutrition continues to hamper learning outcomes, economic opportunities, and efforts to reduce poverty. “No parent wants their children to go hungry and be left behind. Every day, millions of Filipino families are working hard to support their children and be able to serve nutritious food at their tables. We should not let them take up the fight alone. Investing in the nutrition of the youth is investing in the strength, intelligence, and the abilities of every Filipino family,” Legarda said. Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. “Hunger and the lack of proper nutrition should not be a barrier that Filipino children should face. These should not dictate their future,” she added. /atm