The Philippines is seen becoming an upper middle-income economy in the next five years, behind the Duterte administration’s economic reforms and right policies. We hope this foreseen high growth would translate to equity for all Filipinos. Without economic inclusion, the poor will remain poor while the rich will become richer. Helping the poor benefit from high economic growth is the only way out for the Philippines, which is currently as bad compared to poor African countries in terms of nutrition numbers.
There’s a grave malnutrition problem facing the country. Consider these facts: In 1989 Filipino children under five were 27.3-percent underweight and 44.5-percent stunted. By 2005 we reduced these challenges to 20 percent and 32.9 percent, respectively. But 10 years later in 2015 the prevalence of underweight children under five went up to 21.5 percent, and stunting to 33.4 percent. No wonder Filipinos are generally an inch shorter than the average Asean height, and are 4 inches shorter than Singaporeans, the tallest people in the region.
The impact of stunting on children is quite disturbing. It starts in the first two years of life and the effect is irreversible. The consequences include delayed motor development, impaired mental development, and poor performance in school. That’s how this simple nutritional challenge becomes a huge problem with grave repercussions to the country’s future labor force.
BusinessMirror columnist Joselito T. Sescon made a study in 2014 on malnutrition trends in the country to identify factors that strongly influence malnutrition trends. He discovered that food-price inflation has significant and adverse effects on all malnutrition indicators: A one percent change in food-price inflation means 0.036-percent change in the prevalence of underweight children under five years, 0.878-percent change in prevalence of stunting and 0.169 percent in wasting.
Sescon said, “Food prices, excluding rice, have stronger effect on stunting on children under five, as a one percent increase in food-price inflation means 1.854-percent increase in stunting. The largest effect is reserved for underemployment, since a 1-percent change in underemployment means a 3.5-percent increase in stunting of children. Among children aged 6 to 10 years old, my estimates showed a 1-percent change in food-price inflation (including rice) means 0.054-percent change in underweight, 0.17-percent change in wasting of children 6 to 10 years old and no effect on stunting.
“However, the indicator on children in subsistence families is quite puzzling. The results showed that poverty or subsistence condition does not automatically lead to malnutrition. Children’s malnutrition must have cut across among families in subsistence, poverty, transient poverty and even to nonpoor but vulnerable families above the poverty line. What the data is saying is that the challenge is so prevalent, we cannot pinpoint exactly where the problem is coming from.”
The study suggested that we must have blanket interventions to children under five, starting from their conception, to prevent malnutrition. The approach, then, is to consider the challenge of malnutrition as a public good and for the government to directly intervene. For instance, it can roll out a nationwide feeding program for all public elementary schools.
Aware of the negative impact of malnutrition to human capital, the Duterte administration needs to have the same zeal to fight it as the one being waged against illegal drugs. That’s because fighting and defeating malnutrition will bring us bigger dividends in the future far better than the potential gains from our current war on drugs.