Bountiful Children's Foundation has been fighting child malnutrition in the Philippines for 10 years now and is helping in 45 communities. Cristie Deyro, M.D., Bountiful's regional coordinator in Asia, shares the changes she sees in the children in the program in this...
Philippines
Population: 109,581,078 in 2022
GDP per capita (US$): $3,299 in 2020
The burden of malnutrition in Philippines:
- Anemia in pregnancy decreased from 42.3% in 2000 to 25.5% in 2019
- Low birth weight Infants decreased from 21.5% in 2000 to 20.1% in 2015
- Under-5 mortality rate per 1,000 live births:
- Boys decreased from 41.5 in 2000 to 30.1 in 2019
- Girls decreased from 33.7 in 2000 to 24.3 in 2019
- Malnutrition in children under 5 years of age:
- Stunting decreased from 33.8% in 2003 to 30.3% in 2018
- Wasting decreased from 6.0% in 2003 to 5.6% in 2018
Source: Global Nutrition Report, 2022
Bountiful Children in the Philippines
- Bountiful Children began serving in the Philippines in 2013
- 2345 children and 205 mothers receive help each month as of 2022
- See additional information below
Philippines – History and Demographics
The Philippines is a country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 islands. The Philippines’ position as an island country on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes the country prone to earthquakes and typhoons. Poverty level in the Philippines rose to 23.7% in the first half of 2021. Natural hazards and man-made conflicts contribute to food insecurity rates in the country.
Bountiful Children in the Philippines
In November 2013, the Bountiful Children’s Foundation visited the central Philippines to screen children for malnutrition in five areas on Bohol and Cebu islands. Bohol Island had just experienced a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, and many homes were still destroyed or damaged with no hope of power being restored for many more months. The northern part of Cebu Island was also heavily impacted by Typhoon Haiyan and clean-up was still ongoing. In some areas, up to 80% of the homes were either lost or damaged.
Since then we have expanded to 42 communities throughout the country. The areas were incredibly supportive and were very excited to start nutrition programs for their children. From the screenings on Bohol Island, in the Bogo area, 63 of the 120 children screened were found to be malnourished. In the Calape area on Cebu Island, 108 of the 197 were malnourished. In the Tagbilaron area, 41 of the 80 children screened qualified for the program. Similar rates were found in Mandaue and Lilo-an where 14 of 32, and 48 of 108 children were malnourished, respectively.
The many communities available for adoption are listed below. You can adopt a community by making a generous donation of $6,000 or $500 a month, which provides supplements to an entire community for a full year.

Cristie Deyro
Philippines Country Coordinator
Cristie was born to a family of farmers in Pasig city. She graduated with a Biology degree from the University of the Philippines and a medical degree from University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center in 1985. She started volunteering for Bountiful Children’s Foundation in 2014, but her involvement in health and community development started in her college years. She married Ernesto A. Deyro Jr. in 1986 at the Manila Temple. They were called to serve as mission President and companion in Philippines Urdaneta Mission from 2015- 2018. She is presently the regional coordinator of BCF for the Philippines, Cambodia, and Mongolia. Christie is a Bountiful board member.
Bountiful’s Country Coordinators
Country coordinators serve with Bountiful as volunteers. They organize, train, and counsel local community coordinators as they conduct screenings, train families, distribute locally-purchased supplements, and follow up on infant development.
Communities in Philippines
Available for Adoption
Already Adopted
Aguilar
Alaminos
Antique
Bacolod
Bayambang
Binalbagan
Bulan
Cadiz
Calape
Calasiao
Dagupan
Guimaras
Ilo-Ilo
Kalibo
La Carlota
Legazpi
Liloan
Makati
Mandaue
Mangaldan
Mantalban
Novaliches
Rosales
Roxas
Sagay
San Carlos
Sipalay
Sorsogon
Tobaco
Tagbilaran
Urdaneta
Virac
Considering A Donation?
100% of your donation goes directly toward helping children in need! Overhead costs are covered by generous board member donations.
- $8 = feeds 1 child for a month
- $25 = feeds 3 children for a month
- $100 = feeds 1 child for a year
- $500 = feeds an average community for a month
- $6,000 = adopts a community of your choice for one year
Blog Posts from the Philippines
Home Based Learning Program
by Cristie Deyro, MD Mothers from different parts of the Philippines enjoy studying and doing the activities with their children in the Home Based Learning Program, a program being piloted by Bountiful Children's Foundation. It consists of seven health lessons on...
Bayambang, Philippines Community Receives an Award
Philippines Country Coordinator, Doctor Cristina B. Deyro, MD, has shared with us that Alta Grace, the local Program Coordinator in Bayambang, Pangasinan, received recognition and a Certificate of Appreciation from the local government for her work and for Bountiful...
Bountiful's Mission
Our mission is to provide nutritional supplementation to malnourished children and pregnant/nursing mothers as well as to teach health and cognitive development skills to families in the areas we serve.