Hunger, especially among the poor, rose in the second quarter of 2013 as 22.7 percent of respondents to a Social Weather Stations poll claimed to have experienced having nothing to eat in the last three months. This was equivalent to 4.9 million households going hungry.
The SWS said that the first quarter had 19.2 percent of respondents or 3.9 million households say they had experienced having nothing to eat.
The hunger numbers in the second quarter survey was also the highest since March 2012, when hunger went up to a record 23.8 percent.
“The hungry proportion rose, even though the self-rated poor proportion fell between March and June 2013, because hunger rose sharply among the poor,” the SWS said in its report posted Thursday on media partner BusinessWorld.
An earlier SWS poll said self-rated poverty had eased from 52 percent in March to 49 percent in June.
But at the time, the SWS also noted a rise in those who considered themselves poor in terms of food from 39 percent to 40 percent.
The survey involved face-to-face interviews of 1,200 respondents. Error margins of ±3% for national and ±6% for area percentages applied to the survey.
Self-rated poverty
The SWS said that while hunger was higher among the non-poor, the poor and those on the borderline, the increase was marginal for the non-poor, from 12.2 percent to 12.6 percent.
Hunger was substantially higher for the poor and those on the borderline from 25.5 percent to a whopping 33.4 percent.
Also, the SWS noted a marked increase among the food-poor, from 33.1 to 38.2 percent.
On the other hand, the increase among the not food-poor or borderline went from 33.1 to 38.2 percent.
“At a single point in time, the hungry proportion of the poor is always higher than that of the non-poor,” the SWS noted. It added this also applies to self-rated food poverty.
Moderate, severe hunger
Moderate hunger, or having nothing to eat “only once” or “a few times” in the last three months, increased to 17.3 percent from 15.6 percent.
This is equivalent to some 3.7 million families experiencing moderate hunger in the second quarter compared to 3.2 million in March.
Severe hunger, or having nothing to eat “often” or “always,” rose to 5.4 percent from 3.6 percent.
This is equivalent to 1.2 million families experiencing severe hunger in the second quarter compared to 726,000 households in March.
By region
Overall hunger increased nationwide except in Mindanao, where it fell to 17 percent from 29.2 percent in March.
This was equivalent to 834,000 families experiencing overall hunger in June from 1.4 million in March.
SWS said this went up to 26 percent (2.5 million) in Balance Luzon, up to 23.7 percent (692,000) in Metro Manila, and 21 percent (869,000) in the Visayas.
Moderate, severe hunger down in Mindanao
Moderate hunger fell in June in Mindanao to 14 percent from 22.7 percent in March.
But it rose highest in Balance Luzon to 18.3 percent from 12 percent; 18.3 percent from 13.7 percent in the Visayas; and 18 percent from 17.3 percent in Metro Manila.
On the other hand, Mindanao saw an improvement in severe hunger from 6.7 percent in March to 3 percent in June.
Severe hunger increased to 5.7 percent from 4.3 percent in Metro Manila; 7.7 percent from 2.7 percent in Balance Luzon; and 2.7 percent from 1.3 percent in the Visayas.
Improving lives of poor
In reaction to the survey report, Malacañang said that it is “committed to improving the lives of the poor by providing them with access to opportunities and the means to uplift themselves.”
“We will do this until the last day of the President Aquino’s term,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a press briefing on Thursday. — with a report from Kimberly Jane T. Tan /DVM/LBG, GMA News
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