Students of Corazon C. Aquino Elementary School in Quezon City participate in the 2nd Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) 2026 on Thursday, June 18, 2026. Photo courtesy of Art Torres.
Child stunting in the Philippines climbed to 25.3 percent in 2025, marking the first increase in 10 years, according to government nutrition data released this week.
The figure means that about one in every four Filipino children below 5 years old was too short for their age due to chronic malnutrition.
The latest rate was 1.7 percentage points higher than the 2023 level and placed the country within the World Health Organization’s category of high public health concern.
The Second Congressional Commission on Education warned that the reversal could further weaken efforts to address the country’s learning crisis.
EDCOM 2 co-chair Roman Romulo said the rise in stunting should serve as a warning that learning problems could not be fully addressed in later grades if nutrition was neglected during a child’s earliest years.
The data came from the DOST Food and Nutrition Research Institute’s nationwide survey conducted from April 23, 2025, to March 31, 2026. Historical figures showed stunting falling from 45 percent in 1989 to 24 percent in 2023 before rising again in 2025.
The highest stunting rates were recorded in BARMM at 36 percent, Zamboanga Peninsula at 34 percent, Negros Island Region at 31 percent, and Mimaropa at 30 percent. Rural areas also posted a higher rate at 28 percent compared with 23 percent in cities.
The survey also showed stunting among 5- to 10-year-olds at 19 percent and among adolescents aged 10 to 19 at 21 percent. It found that 33 percent of Filipinos experienced moderate to severe food insecurity, while 17 percent of pregnant women were nutritionally at risk.