PIDS study provides health systemspecific solutions to address chronic malnutrition in PH The economic and health consequences of chronic malnutrition in the country are “too enormous and extreme” and need critical and urgent attention. This was highlighted in a recent study of state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) authored pregnancy, child by PIDS Research Fellow nutritional deficiency, Valerie Gilbert Ulep. and repeated infection or disease are some of Citing the 2021 Joint the stresses that increase Child Malnutrition the risk of stunting. Estimates, Ulep said “about a third or 3.5 Compared to countries million of Filipino children with similar income levels, under five years old the rate of decline of are stunted,” which is stunting in the Philippines a marker of chronic was “relatively slow” at malnutrition. 0 to 1 percent annually, according to Ulep. Well“Stunting is a result of performing countries, chronic and recurrent such as Viet Nam, had stresses that the child a 5- to 6-percent annual encounters during a decline. critical period, which starts at pregnancy until To help address this, the first 1000 days of life,” Ulep emphasized the he explained. need to look at chronic malnutrition using a Undernutrition during health system lens. Caraga INFOCUS
The study identified issues and challenges in three health system components: health financing, health service delivery, and health governance. On health financing, the government should “cover a comprehensive package of costeffective health and nutrition interventions”. However, the study revealed that nutritionrelated expenditures from 2017 to 2019 were approximately PHP 1,504.06 per capita only or 0.92 percent of gross domestic product and 7.70-percent of February 5-11, 2022 |
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