4.5M families went hungry in 2011

HUNGRY KIDS A boy eats lunch near Del Pan Bridge in Manila surrounded by equally hungry children. According to a recent SocialWeather Stations survey, hunger affected some 4.5 million Filipino families in the last quarter of 2011. RICHARD REYES

A total of 4.5 million families in the country went hungry in the last quarter of 2011, up by some 400,000 families from the previous quarter, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

Results of the survey conducted on December 3 to 7 last year showed that 22.5 percent of households went hungry, 1 percentage point higher than the 21.5 percent in the third quarter.

The incidence of hunger in the two quarters are statistically identical given the margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

SWS asked respondents: “In the last three months, did it happen even once that your family experienced hunger and did not have anything to eat?” Those who answered in the affirmative were further asked: “Did it happen ‘only once,’ ‘a few times,’ ‘often’ or ‘always?’”

SWS classified experiencing hunger “only once” or “a few times” as “moderate hunger,” while going hungry “often” or “always” was rated as “severe hunger.”

Those who said they experienced “moderate hunger” declined from 18 percent in the previous quarter to 17.7 percent, while those who experienced “severe hunger” rose from 3.5 percent to 4.7 percent.

Among families who considered themselves poor, hunger rose from 27.9 percent in September to 33.6 percent in December last year. Hunger among families who considered themselves food-poor also increased from 31.1 percent to 38.1 percent.

Moderate hunger rose among the self-rated poor (from 22.4 percent to 25.6 percent) and the self-rated food-poor families (from 24.2 percent to 29 percent).

Severe hunger also rose among the self-rated poor (from 5.5 percent to 8 percent) and the self-rated food-poor families (from 6.9 percent to 9.1 percent).

By location, overall hunger declined in Metro Manila (from 23 percent in September to 22 percent in December) and Luzon outside Metro Manila (from 28.3 percent to 23 percent).

Hunger, however, rose in the Visayas (from 15.3 percent to 25 percent) and Mindanao (from 13 percent to to 19.7 percent).

Moderate hunger rose in Metro Manila (from 16.7 percent to 17 percent), the Visayas (from 13 percent to 22 percent) and Mindanao (from 11 percent to 16 percent).

It declined in Luzon outside Metro Manila by 7.3 percentage points from 24.3 percent to 17 percent.

Severe hunger increased in Luzon outside Manila (from 4 percent to 6 percent), the Visayas (from 2.3 percent to 3 percent) and Mindanao (from 2 percent to 3.7 percent).

Severe hunger declined in Metro Manila from 6.3 percent to 5 percent.

The noncommissioned survey used face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adult respondents nationwide. The margin of error for area percentages were plus or minus 6 percentage points. Inquirer Research