"What Explains the Large Disparity in Child Stunting in the Philippines" by Valerie Gilbert T. Ulep, Jhanna Uy et al.
 

What Explains the Large Disparity in Child Stunting in the Philippines? A Decomposition Analysis

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-4-2021

Abstract

Objective:
About a third of under-five Filipino children are stunted, with significant socio-economic inequality. This study aims to quantify factors that explain the large gap in stunting between poor and non-poor Filipino children.

Design:
Using the 2015 Philippine National Nutrition Survey (NNS), we conducted a linear probability model to examine the determinants of child stunting then an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition to explain the factors contributing to the gap in stunting between poor and non-poor children.

Setting:
Philippines

Participants:
1, 881 children aged 6-23 months

Results:
The overall stunting prevalence was 38.5% with significant gap between poor and non-poor (45.0% vs. 32.0%). Maternal height, education, and maternal nutrition status account for 26%, 18%, and 17% of stunting inequality, respectively. These are followed by quality of prenatal care (12%), dietary diversity (12%), and iron supplementation in children (5%).

Conclusions:
Maternal factors account for more than 50% of the gap in child stunting in the Philippines. This signifies the critical role of maternal biological and socio-economic circumstances in improving the linear growth of children.

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