THE Department of Health (DOH) intends to control the prevalence of child stunting in the Philippines and halve the current rate by 2028.
In her speech during yesterday’s launch of the “Eskwela Kalusugan: Bawat Bata Malusog sa NCR” in San Juan City, Health Assistant Secretary Gloria Balboa said they are looking to lower the 27 percent child stunting rate by 2028.
“At 27 percent, it means that there are about 3 out of 10 under five-year-old children that have stunted growth,” said Balboa.
“We want to reduce stunting to 13.5 percent or about 1 per 10 under-five-year-old children by 2028,” she added.
Stunting is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as impaired growth and development that children experience mainly due to poor nutrition.
Stunted children are known to fall sick more often, miss opportunities to learn, perform less well in school, and are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases.
To meet their goal, Balboa said they have launched a comprehensive school-based health program aimed at identifying health and nutritional issues among children.
“By uniting sectors, we can deliver services such as nutritional assessment, vision and dental screening, vaccinations, medical check-ups, and health education to our students,” said Balboa.
She said bringing the campaign to schools is necessary as children spend most of their time in schools.
“Schools, where children spend a large portion of their youth, should be safe and supportive spaces not only for learning, but also for physical, mental, and emotional health,” said Balboa.
ANGARA’S TAKE
Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the expanded School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) is expected to further reduce the number of undernourished Kindergarten and elementary learners in the country’s public schools.
Angara made the remarks in his speech during yesterday’s launch of the expanded SBFP at the Juan Sumulong Elementary School in Antipolo City.
“Kapag may sapat na nutrisyon ang mga bata, mas madali silang matuto. Hindi natin kailangan hintayin pang magutom o magkasakit sila bago kumilos (When learners have enough nutrition, they will be able to learn easily. We should not wait for them to be hungry and get sick before we act),” Angara said.
“With the strong support of the President, we are investing not only in education, but in lifelong health, productivity, and equity,” he added.
To be implemented over 120 school days, this year’s expanded SBFP now includes all Kinder learners, not just the undernourished, as part of the shift toward universal early nutrition.
Angara said for the first time, DepEd is providing hot meals and fortified food products to around 3.4 million kindergarten and severely wasted and wasted grade 1-6 learners.
“This shift is informed by clear results since last school year, the number of severely wasted Kindergarten children was reduced by more than half, from 113,451 down to 47,281,” the DepEd chief said, adding that improvements were also recorded in “energy levels, class participation, weight gain, and overall health.”
He added that teachers and principals nationwide also report that children in the program come to school more alert, more engaged, and more ready to learn.
Angara cited as an example Region II (Cagayan Valley) and Region XI (Davao), where cases of severely undernourished Kinder learners fell by about 80% after the feeding program last year.
With a proposed P14 billion funding, upped from this year’s P11.77 billion, Angara said the DepEd expects more positive outcomes from the program, including a further reduction in the number of malnourished or wasted and severely wasted learners.
To support the expanded SBFP, Angara said 74 central kitchens are now functional, enabling efficient food preparation and distribution to thousands of schools.
Meanwhile, over 44,000 schools are actively participating in the “Gulayan sa Paaralan Program,” producing fresh vegetables to supplement meals and provide practical nutrition lessons to learners.
Future plans, according to Angara, include refining the meal components, improving data tracking of learners’ health outcomes, and expanding partnerships with local farmers through home-grown school feeding models.
“The Department is also studying further coverage for Grades 1 to 3, who remain vulnerable to learning delays linked to nutrition deficits,” he added. – With Ashzel Hachero
