The number of Filipino families experiencing involuntary hunger has gone down to 2.2 million, the lowest since 2004, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.
The June 23 to 26 poll, first published by BusinessWorld, showed that hunger levels went down to 9.5 percent for the second quarter of 2017, the lowest since March 2004’s 7.4 percent.
The survey, conducted among 1,200 adults nationwide has a margin of error of ±3 points nationwide and ±6 points for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
SWS said 9.5 percent includes those who experienced “moderate” and “severe” hunger. Families who experienced involuntary hunger once or a few times in the last three months are categorized under “moderate” and those who were “often” or “always” hungry were classified under “severe.”
Moderate hunger dipped by 1.9 percentage points to 7.9 percent in June while sever hunger slightly went down by 0.6 percentage points to 1.6 percent.
“Both have been steadily declining since December 2016,” SWS said, adding that the results coincide with earlier surveys that showed an improvement in self-rated poverty and self-rated food poverty among Filipinos. KS/rga