SWS: Hungry Filipinos down in Q2
THE number of Filipino families experiencing involuntary hunger decreased in the second quarter of 2018, according to the latest survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
The poll from June 27 to 30 found that 9.4 percent or about 2.2 million families experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months—down by 0.5 percentage points from the 9.9 percent or 2.3 million families in March 2018.
“This is only the third time Hunger has been in the single-digit range since March 2004,” the polling firm said.
The measure of hunger refers to involuntary suffering because the respondents answer a survey question that specifies hunger due to lack of food to eat.
SWS said the 9.4 percent was arrived at by adding the 8.1 percent of those surveyed who said they experienced “moderate hunger” and the 1.3 percent who said they experienced “severe hunger.”
It said “moderate hunger” referred to those who experienced hunger “only once” or “a few times” in the last three months, while “severe hunger” were those who experienced it “often” or “always” in the last three months.
The few who did not state their frequency of hunger were classified under moderate hunger, the pollster added.
SWS noted that moderate hunger fell by 0.5 points, from 8.6 percent in March to 8.1 in December. This was the lowest since the 7.9 percent in June 2017.
Severe hunger was unchanged at 1.3 percent in both March and June. This is the lowest since the 1.2 percent in September 2003.
The quarterly hunger rate in Metro Manila rose by seven points, from 6 percent or an estimated 190,000 families in March 2018 to 13 percent or an estimated 412,000 families in June.
It fell by 3.7 points in balance Luzon, from 11 percent or an estimated 1.1 million families in March to 7.3 percent or around 758,000 million families in June.
Hunger also dropped by 3.7 points in the Visayas, from 13 percent or an estimated 583,000 families in March to 9.3 percent or about 419,000 families in June.
In Mindanao, hunger rose by four points, from 7.3 percent or an estimated 390,000 families to 11.3 percent or an estimated 604,000 families in June.
SWS said that the drop in the quarterly hunger rate between March and June 2018 was due to the decrease in the incidence of hunger among the Self-Rated Poor, offset by an increase among the Self-Rated Non-Poor.
From March to June, quarterly hunger fell by 4.1 percent among the Self-Rated Poor, from 16.7 percent in March to 12.6 pecent in June.
“This is the lowest since September 2015,” according to SWS.
Quarterly hunger, however, rose by 1.6 percent among the Non-Poor over the same period, going from 4.9 percent to 6.5 percent.
Hunger also fell among the Self-Rated Food Poor, falling by 6 percent from 20.8 percent in March to 14.8 percent in June.
It, however, increased by 1.3 percent among the Not Food-Poor/Food-Borderline from 5.4 percent to 6.7 percent.
“At any one point in time, quarterly Hunger among the Self-Rated Food-Poor is always greater than Hunger among the Self-Rated Poor,” SWS said.
The survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults, 18 years old and above, nationwide, with a sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages and ±6 percent each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. CATHERINE VALENTE
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