Hunger highest since 2021 in Philippines

More Filipinos experienced involuntary hunger in the first quarter of the year, the highest since 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

Based on the March 21 to 25 survey released on Tuesday, 14.2 percent of respondents said their families experienced involuntary hunger or 'being hungry and not having anything to eat at least once' in the past three months.

It was up from 12.6 percent in December 2023 and the highest since the 16.8 percent hunger rate in May 2021.

The March 2023 hunger rate is comprised of 12.2 percent of respondents who said they experienced moderate hunger (from 11.2 percent in December) and 2.0 percent who experienced severe hunger (from 1.4 percent).

Moderate hunger is defined as hunger experienced 'only once' or 'a few times' in the last three months, while severe hunger refers to hunger experienced 'often' or 'always' in the last three months.

The hunger rate reached double digits in most areas except in Mindanao, where it dropped by over four percentage points.

It was highest among respondents in Metro Manila at 19 percent (from 12.7 percent), followed by the rest of Luzon at 15.3 percent (from 14.3 percent), the Visayas at 15 percent (from 9.3 percent) and Mindanao at 8.7 percent (from 12 percent).

Like in previous polls, the country's hunger rate was higher among those who rated their families as 'poor' than those who were 'not poor' and 'borderline poor.'

It decreased among 'poor' families, from 20.1 percent to 19.3 percent, while it increased among 'not poor' and 'borderline poor,' from 5.9 percent to 9.8 percent.