Poverty down, hunger up – SWS

MANILA, Philippines – While the country’s poverty rate dropped at the end of 2011, the number of Filipinos who experienced hunger went up during the same period, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in its latest survey.

The SWS poll, conducted from Dec. 3 to 7, 2011 found 22.5 percent of respondents (about 4.5 million families) experienced having nothing to eat, which is slightly higher than the 21.5 percent (about 4.1 million families) recorded in September.

The SWS December poll, published in the newspaper BusinessWorld yesterday, used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide.

SWS said severe hunger, experiencing it “often” or “always,” rose by 1.2 points to 4.7 percent or about 955,000 families.

Meanwhile, moderate hunger, having nothing to eat “only once” or “a few times,” dropped by 0.3 point to 17.7 percent (3.57 million families).

“The hunger rate rose since hunger incidence among the poor rose so much that it offset the decline of the poverty rate,” SWS president Mahar Mangahas said in a text message to The STAR.

Hunger among self-rated poor families increased to 33.6 percent in December from 27.9 percent in September, the SWS said.

Among households rating themselves as food-poor, hunger also increase to 38.1 percent from 31.1 percent, it said.

Severe hunger among poor families jumped by eight points from 5.5 percent in September, and also 9.1 percent from the 6.9 percent among the food-poor.

Moderate hunger, meanwhile, went up to 25.6 percent from 22.4 percent previously among the poor, and increased to 29 percent from 24.2 percent among the food-poor.

The survey research institution said hunger also exists among families calling themselves “non-poor or borderline” but the proportion is much less than among those calling themselves poor.

Overall, SWS said hunger fell in balance in Luzon and Metro Manila, but increased in the Visayas and Mindanao.

It declined by 5.3 points to 23 percent from the record-high of 28.3 percent in balance in Luzon and down by a point in Metro Manila to 22 percent from 23 percent.

It rose by 9.7 points to 25 percent in the Visayas and by 6.7 points in Mindanao to 19.7 percent.

Moderate hunger fell by 7.3 points in Luzon to 17 percent and was barely changed in Metro Manila at 17 percent. However, it increased by nine and five points, respectively, in the Visayas to 22 percent and in Mindanao to 16 percent.

The new moderate hunger rates are higher than their 13-year averages for all areas, SWS noted.

Severe hunger, meanwhile, rose in all areas except in Metro Manila, where it dropped by 1.3 points to five percent.

It rose two points in Luzon to six percent, just short of the record high. It also gained by 1.7 points in Mindanao to 3.7 percent and by almost a point in the Visayas to three percent.

SWS said the latest severe hunger rates were also higher than their 13-year averages in Metro Manila and Luzon but were lower in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The SWS survey used sampling error margins of plus or minus three percentage points for national and plus or minus six percentage points for area percentages. –Helen Flores (The Philippine Star)