Nutrition body’s ratings high amid stunting rate
The Philippine National Nutrition Council is under scrutiny for reporting high performance ratings despite a rising national child stunting rate. Lawmakers have flagged potential data integrity issues and unrealistic performance targets.
Why it matters
The discrepancy between government performance metrics and actual health outcomes raises concerns about public health accountability and data transparency.
MANILA, Philippines - The National Nutrition Council (NNC) was pressed by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom 2) to explain its high performance ratings despite the country's worsening child stunting rate.
In a statement on Sunday, Edcom 2 Commissioner Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian urged the NNC to "be realistic," citing performance data that 96 percent of local government units (LGUs) earned a score of 85 percent in the Seal of Quality Nutrition Program.
"But obviously, if we have 2 million malnourished children, it means our LGUs aren't pushing themselves hard enough to attain a better score, right?" said Gatchalian.
Under the 2027 National Expenditure Program, the NNC set a target of only 20 percent of LGUs meeting the minimum score for the program.
READ: DOH aims to reduce stunting to 19.4% by 2027
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in