Stunting among Filipino children below 5 years old climbed to 25.3 per cent last year, affecting one in four children, marking the first increase recorded since 2015. — The Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN Photo

MANILA — Stunting among Filipino children below 5 years old climbed to 25.3 per cent last year, affecting one in four children, marking the first increase recorded since 2015, the Philippines’ Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom 2) said on Wednesday.

The figure, up by 1.7 per cent hike from 2023, was taken from the 2025 Updating Survey of the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute.

Conducted from April 23, 2025 to March 31 this year, it covered 91.5 per cent of target households in all 118 provinces and highly urbanised cities.

The World Health Organization describes stunting as a condition in which children fail to grow and develop properly due to insufficient nutrition, frequent infections and lack of adequate psychosocial stimulation.

Edcom 2 said the deteriorating nutritional condition is now formally considered a “high public health concern.”

It added that the results reinforced its long-standing position that the education crisis in the country starts even before children reach school age.

Edcom 2 cited studies on early childhood care and development that showed early-life malnutrition significantly hinders brain development, language skills and school readiness.

“Stunting remains one of the strongest predictors of poor educational outcomes later in life,” it said.

“The survey results expose stark disparities, showing that the most vulnerable populations are bearing the brunt of the crisis,” it added.

‘Stark disparities’

According to the survey, stunting was higher in rural areas (27.8 per cent) than urban areas (23.2 per cent), with the highest rates in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (36 per cent), Zamboanga Peninsula (34.6 per cent), Negros Island Region (30.9 per cent), and Mimaropa (30.3 per cent).

Malnutrition extends beyond early childhood, affecting 18.9 per cent of children aged 5 to 10 and 21.4 per cent of adolescents.

About 18.6 per cent of school-age children are underweight, with rates exceeding 24 per cent in several high-burden regions.

Food insecurity also remains widespread, affecting 32.6 per cent of individuals with many households coping by buying food on credit (64.9 per cent) or borrowing from relatives (68.6 per cent).

Maternal risks are also high, with 16.7 per cent of pregnant women nutritionally at risk, rising to 40 per cent among adolescents under 20.

“The increase in stunting after a decade of decline should serve as a wake-up call for all of us. We cannot remediate in Grade 3 what was neglected in the first three years of life,” said Edcom 2 cochair Representative Roman Romulo, principal author of House Bill No. 9466 amending the Masustansyang Pagkain Para Sa Batang Pilipino Act.

‘Wake-up call’

“If we are serious about solving the learning crisis, we must start by solving the nutrition crisis,” he added.

Edcom 2 stressed that education reform cannot work if children come to school hungry and undernourished.

It called for stronger coordination among agencies and local governments, along with sustained investment in maternal health, the first 1,000 days, early childhood care and food security.

In the effort to recover from learning losses and improve education outcomes, Edcom 2 stressed that child malnutrition must be treated “not only as a health imperative, but as an education reform. — Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN