The Negros Island Region (NIR) recorded the country’s third-highest stunting rate among children under five years old, according to the latest 2025 Updating Survey of the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) highlighted by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2).
Data released by EDCOM 2 on July 18 showed that 30.9 percent of children aged 0 to 59 months in the Negros Island Region are stunted, placing the region behind only the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (36 percent) and the Zamboanga Peninsula (34.6 percent).
The figure is significantly higher than the national average of 25.3 percent, which EDCOM 2 said marks the country’s first increase in child stunting in 10 years.
EDCOM 2 described the findings as a “high public health concern,” noting that about one in every four Filipino children under five is affected by stunting.
The commission said children who enter school with poor nutrition often face long-term disadvantages in literacy, numeracy and overall learning, making child nutrition an education issue as well as a public health concern.
The report also found that stunting remains more prevalent in rural areas at 27.8 percent compared with 23.2 percent in urban communities.
Aside from NIR, the regions with the highest stunting rates were BARMM at 36 percent, Zamboanga Peninsula at 34.6 percent and MIMAROPA at 30.3 percent.
EDCOM 2 called for stronger coordination among government agencies and local government units to improve maternal health, nutrition during the first 1,000 days of life, early childhood development and household food security.*
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