📄 Abstract
Child stunting in the Philippines remains a pressing health and education crisis, undermining children’s growth, learning capacity, and future productivity. Despite constitutional guarantees and laws such as the Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag Nanay Act, the Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act, and the Early Childhood Care and Development Act, weak implementation has left millions of children vulnerable. Recent jurisprudence, including the consolidated cases of Pimentel III, Colmenares, and 1SAMBAYAN (2025), affirms that the right to health entails enforceable state obligations, situating stunting as a constitutional violation. Empirical evidence highlights maternal health and socio economic disparities as key drivers of malnutrition, while learning poverty remains alarmingly high. This paper argues that eradicating stunting requires decisive national action, stronger accountability, and sustained investment in maternal and child health programs to secure the country’s human capital.
📚 How to Cite:
Jeanne M. Baliad , NUTRITION AS A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT: ADDRESSING STUNTING AND LEARNING POVERTY THROUGH POLICY REFORM IN CHILD HEALTH AND EDUCATION , Volume 12 , Issue 6, June 2026, EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR) , Pages: 634 - 638 , DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra28494