MANILA, Philippines — Some 2.5 million Filipino families across the country experienced hunger due to lack of food at least once in the previous three months, the latest survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) has shown.
This figure, the polling firm noted, represents 10 percent of Filipino families nationwide – which is 3.6 points below the 13.6 percent rate recorded in June 2021 and 11.1 points below the 2020 annual average of 21.1 percent. However, it added, the 10 percent rate is still higher than 2019’s annual average of 9,3 percent.
“The resulting 13.5 percent average for the first three quarters of 2021 is less than last year but has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels,” the SWS explained.
Of the 10 percent, however, SWS said 7.9 percent or 2 million families experienced Moderate Hunger while 2.1 percent or 534,000 families experienced Severe Hunger.
Moderate Hunger refers to those who experienced hunger “Only Once” or “A Few Times” from July to September while Severe Hunger refers to those who experienced it “Often” or “Always” in the last three months.
The SWS said the survey was conducted from September 12-16, 2021, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide — 300 hundred families each in Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The non-commissioned survey had a sampling error margin of ±3 percent for national percentages and ±6 percent for percentages per area.
Based on the Third Quarter 2021 Socia Weather Survey released Monday, hunger has decreased in all areas except in Metro Manila where the rate was highest at 14 percent. Involuntary hunger incidence was at 10.3 percent in Central Luzon and Mindanao and at 6 percent in the Visayas, the survey also indicated.
This means that the 3.6-point decline in overall hunger between June and September this year was due to decreases in all areas except in Metro Manila, the SWS explained.
Moderate hunger vs severe hunger
Survey results likewise showed that moderate hunger increased in Metro Manila, while severe hunger decreased to 9.7 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, in comparison to 9.3 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively, in June.
In Balance Luzon, the survey said that moderate hunger decreased to 8 percent while severe hunger slightly increased to 2.3 percent in September. In the June survey, it was 13 percent and 2 percent in Balance Luzon.
In the Visayas, both moderate hunger and severe hunger decreased to 5 percent and 1 percent, respectively, in September compared to June’s 7 percent and 1.3 percent.
In Mindanao, the September survey showed that moderate hunger decreased to 9 percent while severe hunger remained at 1.3 percent. It was 13.7 percent and 1.3 percent in the region in June.
Hunger eases among poor and non-poor
According to the SWS, the rate of overall hunger (moderate plus severe) fell among the self-rated poor from 15.7 percent to 14.3 percent in the third quarter of this year. It also fell among the non-poor over the same period from 11.7 percent to 6.5 percent.
“The rate of overall hunger also fell among the self-rated food-poor, from 20.7 percent in June 2021 to 15.5 percent in September 2021. It also fell among the non-food-poor (not food-poor plus borderline food-poor) from 10.2 percent to 7.7 percent,” it added.
The SWS explained that the rates of hunger among the self-rated food-poor were always higher than the rates of hunger among the self-rated poor at any point in time.
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