Philippines losing P328 B yearly due to malnutrition – NGO report

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy is losing around P328 billion a year due to the impact of childhood stunting on workforce productivity and education, a report of non-government organization Save the Children showed yesterday.

Based on the report “Cost of Hunger: Philippines,” childhood stunting caused by malnutrition and undernutrition cost the Philippines around three percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013.

“In just a year, the Philippines has lost almost three percent of its GDP in terms of education and productivity costs due to stunting,” Ned Olney, Save the Children country director, said.

“If the costs are added, the likely impact would be up to 1.6 percent,” Olney added.

The report shows that 3.3 million Filipino children below five years old suffer from stunting, while 2.2 million are underweight.

At least 31,000 child deaths were linked to undernutrition, representing 45 percent of all childhood deaths.

According to the study, around 48,000 undernourished students have repeated a grade level, incurring more than P1.2 billion in additional expenses shouldered by their families and the education system.

Olney said 32.6 million in the working-age population have suffered from undernutrition before the age of five.

Olney claimed that the high rate of malnutrition and undernutrition in the Philippines was attributed to poverty, typhoons that destroy the country’s agriculture or low immunization coverage.

“If stunting rates continue to rise, it would be difficult for families to break free from poverty. It is the poor and neglected sectors of society that carry the burden of stunting,” he said.

Olney said any investment in reducing childhood undernutrition would stimulate economic growth for all Filipinos.