MANILA, Philippines - Results of the latest Social Weather Station survey have shown an overall drop in families experiencing hunger in the first quarter of 2017, but figures at the local level reveal that success in addressing gaps in child nutrition remains uneven.
Save the Children Philippines country director Ned Olney says that cases of chronic malnutrition (stunted growth) remains extremely high in some of the poorest regions in Philippines.
Last national nutrition data from the government reveal that that over 40 percent of children in of Eastern Visayas, MIMAROPA and Bicol suffer from stunting. In ARMM, nearly one in two children are stunted.
Chronic malnutrition not only stunts the physical growth of children, it also leaves irreversible consequences on their cognitive development. “Once a child reaches the age of five and is stunted, there is no turning back. You cannot recuperate from the lost time and nutrition that would have improved that child’s cognitive development,” Olney said.
But beyond devastating effects to a child’s growth, stunting also leads to missed opportunities for the economy, according to a Save the Children study in 2016, entitled “The Cost of Hunger: Philippines.” The study revealed that the country loses P328 billion, or three percent annually of its gross domestic product (GDP) due to the impact of childhood stunting on workforce productivity and education.
While Save the Children welcomed the positive results of the SWS survey, Olney acknowledged that a lot more needs to be done:
As Save the Children marks its 36th year in the Philippines, it plans on taking more aggressive measures to provide more Filipino kids with better nutrition.
Following the success of their community management program for hunger and malnutrition last year, the organization has expanded its malnutrition efforts in 17 barangays in the cities of Malabon and Navotas. Save the Children has reached more than 700,000 adults and children reached in 2016 and is looking to go further this year.
Apart from their on-ground efforts, Save the Children is also working with government agencies, as well, as fellow NGOs in lobbying for the First 1000 Days Act, a bill that, once approved, make health and nutrition interventions more accessible to every Filipino child, from womb to life at two years of age.
Help end the vicious cycle of hunger and malnutrition by donating to donate.savethechildren.org.ph.