DOH aims to reduce stunting to 19.4% by 2027

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday said it aimed to reduce stunting to 19.4 percent by 2027 despite a lower budget for nutrition programs next year.

Stunting is a condition in which a child does not develop properly often due to malnutrition.

READ: Study: 1 in 4 Filipino kids under age 5 stunted

Facing the House of Representatives appropriations committee’s deliberation on their 2027 budget, DOH Secretary Edwin Mercado told lawmakers that 25.3 percent of Filipino children experienced stunting in 2025.

He added that, since there are still four more months left in the year, the department has yet to finalize its report on the prevalence of stunting in 2026 but that it aimed to reduce it to 20.8 percent by year-end.

However, Mercado pointed out that the DOH’s nutrition programs were given a P976 million budget in 2025, but this funding was dramatically cut to P223 million in 2026; and the proposed allocation for 2027 is even lower at P209 million.

Nonetheless, the DOH chief touted that the department still maintained programs with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and the Department of Social Welfare and Development to assist mothers in the prenatal and postpartum stages. /mr