Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 19) — Around three million Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger at least once between October and December 2022, the Social Weather Stations reported on Thursday.
The latest figure reflects about 11.8% of Filipino families, 0.5 points above the 11.3% of families that went hungry due to lack of food to eat from July to September 2022.
The SWS defines involuntary hunger as “being hungry and not having food to eat” during the quarter.
Of the 11.8%, the agency said 9.5% or 2.4 million families experienced moderate hunger or being hungry “only once” or “a few times,” while 599,000 families, or 2.3% of all households, suffered from severe hunger or hunger was experienced “often” or “always” during the last quarter of 2022.
Hunger was experienced most in Mindanao at 12.7% or around 738,000 families. The figure is lower than the 893,000 families recorded in the third quarter of 2022.
“It has been highest in Mindanao in 38 out of 100 surveys since July 1998,” the SWS said.
Meanwhile, the hunger incidence in the Visayas rose to 12% or 576,000 families from the 336,000 families previously recorded.
Metro Manila’s hunger rate fell to 11.7% or 399,999 families from the 558,000 families logged in the previous survey.
In Balance Luzon or areas of Luzon outside Metro Manila, it increased to 11.3% or 1.3 million families from 9.6% or an estimated 1.1 million families.
The study was conducted from Dec. 10 to 14, 2022, using face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults across the country: 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
