Hunger remains high in RP

Over 20% in the last three quarters — SWS

HUNGER CONTINUES to haunt many Filipino families, with the Social Weather Stations’ (SWS) overall measure barely improving and more claiming to have frequently lacked anything to eat.

The number of households which experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the last three months was at 21.1%, equivalent to some four million families and down very slightly from March’s 21.2%, results of a June SWS survey showed.

Hunger has now been over 20% for the last three quarters, the SWS said, taking into account the record 24% notched last December 2009.

The average since 1998 has risen to 13.6%.

Although overall hunger hardly changed, its composition worsened given increased severe hunger (experiencing it “often” or “always”) coupled with a drop in moderate (“only once” or a “few times”) responses.

Severe hunger rose to 4.2%, equivalent to some 780,000 families, from 2.8% (530,000) previously. Moderate hunger, meanwhile, fell to 16.9% (3.2 million) from 18.4% (2.4 million).

“Thus the severely hungry became 20% of the overall hungry, up from 13% in the previous quarter,” the SWS said.

A Cabinet official asked to comment on the results said the government was in the process of reviewing all programs related to addressing hunger, while an economist said the data highlighted the need to address poverty.

By geographical area, hunger rose in Metro Manila to 22% (550,000 families) from 17.3% and in Mindanao to 26% (1.1 million) from 24%.

It declined in the rest of Luzon to 18.3% (1.5 million) from 20.9%, and was hardly changed in the Visayas at 21% (790,000) from 21.1%.

Broken down, moderate hunger rose in Metro Manila (19% from 13.3%), fell in the Balance of Luzon (14% from 18.1%) and in the Visayas (17.3% from 18.8%), and barely moved in Mindanao (21% from 21.4%).

The new rates , the SWS said, “are higher than their 12-year averages for all areas.”

Severe hunger, meanwhile, rose in all areas except Metro Manila where it was down a point to 3%. It rose to 5% from 2.6% in Mindanao, to 4.3% from 2.8% in the rest of Luzon, and to 3.7% from 2.3% in the Visayas.

The SWS said the severe hunger rates were also higher than their 12-year averages in all areas except Metro Manila, where the latest score was slightly lower than the 3.5% average.

Told of the results, Social Welfare and Development chief Corazon J. Soliman said the government was seeking to improve the coverage of its services.

In particular, “The conditional cash transfer is ongoing and effective but we are looking for areas of improvement particularly in the delivery of the cash,” Ms. Soliman said.

For his part, University of Asia and the Pacific economist Victor A. Abola said: “It goes to show that despite the gains of the last quarter … the new administration should give [importance] to lower the poverty rate [by providing] regular long standing jobs.”

“It also supports my view that drastic reduction in poverty is the number one priority of the new administration. And this can be done only by growing faster at 7-8% and having a weaker peso, as these are employment drivers,” he added.

The SWS survey, conducted last June 25 to 28, utilized face-to-face interview of 1,200 adults nationwide. The error margins used were ±3% for national and ±6% for area percentages. — Ana Mae G. Roa, Businessworld