Young and wasted

As the nation grapples with the many problems besetting the education sector, one aspect that calls for urgent attention is the lack of proper nourishment in the formative years of millions of Filipino children.

With the start of Nutrition Month 2025, the National Nutrition Council and the United Nations Children’s Fund have joined forces to intensify efforts to end child food poverty. The NNC and Unicef noted that 50 percent of children under age five in the Philippines  are food poor, while 13 percent suffer from severe food poverty.

There are essential food groups: grains; vegetables; fruits; meat, fish, eggs and alternatives; milk and alternatives; sugars, preserves and syrups; fats and oils; legumes and fluids.

Child food poverty occurs when children eat fewer than five of these essential food groups in a day. Those who suffer from severe food poverty consume no more than two of the essential food groups daily.

Unicef and the NNC noted that food poverty begins early in the Philippines. Among children aged six to 23 months, when infants begin consuming solid foods together with breastmilk, only one in five meets the minimum dietary requirement for health development. Among the poorest families, only 17.8 percent of children in that age group receive the required varied diets.

The deprivation of micronutrients and proteins needed for optimum growth and development results in physical and mental stunting, which in turn affects learning capabilities.

In addition to the lack of proper nourishment, children also suffer from malnutrition due to unhealthy food choices such as processed foods high in sugar, salt and fat. Cases of child obesity have reached alarming levels, according to Unicef.

“When children are not properly nourished, they find it difficult to learn, play, and explore their world. Addressing child food poverty is essential to fulfilling their right to proper nutrition,” the acting country representative of Unicef, Behzad Noubary, pointed out on July 1, the start of Nutrition Month 2025.

The government has supplemental feeding programs in public schools as well as community-level feeding services. But the programs are limited, and basic fees are collected for feeding programs in some schools. More effort is needed to achieve Unicef’s goal, which is to ensure “that every child has access to safe, nutritious, affordable and age-appropriate food.”