SWS: Hunger rate declines in 3rd quarter of 2023

The results of the Third Quarter 2023 Social Weather Survey (SWS) showed that 9.8% of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger or those who felt hunger and do not have anything to eat for at least once a month.

The September 2023 Hunger figure was lower than the 10.4% in June 2023 and the same as the 9.8% in March 2023.

The survey was conducted from September 28 to October 1, 2023 through face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila), the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The sampling error margins are ±2.8% for national percentages, and ±5.7% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The SWS survey showed that "hunger falls in the Visayas and Balance Luzon, but rises slightly in Metro Manila and Mindanao."

As of September 2023, the experience of hunger was highest in Metro Manila at 17.3%, followed by Balance Luzon at 10.3%, the Visayas at 6.7%, and Mindanao at 6.7% of families.

The 0.6-point decline in Overall Hunger between June 2023 and September 2023 was due to declines in the Visayas and Balance Luzon, combined with a rise in Metro Manila and a steady score in Mindanao.

Compared to June 2023, the incidence of hunger fell by 2.6 points in the Visayas, from 9.3% to 6.7%, the figure fell by 1.0 points in Balance Luzon or from 11.3% to 10.3%.

However, the figure rose by 1.6 points in Metro Manila, from 15.7% to 17.3% while in Mindanao, the number hardly changed moving from 6.3% to 6.7%.

The 9.8% Hunger rate in September 2023 was the sum of 8.4% that include families that experienced Moderate Hunger (refers to those who experienced hunger “Only Once” or “A Few Times” in the last three months) and 1.3% who experienced Severe Hunger (Severe Hunger refers to those who experienced it “Often” or “Always” in the previous three months).

Nationwide, compared to survey results from June 2023, Moderate Hunger hardly moved from 8.3%, while Severe Hunger fell slightly from 2.1%.

MODERATE HUNGER

In Metro Manila, the figure rose by 1.3 points from 12.0% in June 2023 to 13.3% in September 2023, in Balance Luzon, Moderate Hunger rose by 0.7 points from 8.3% to 9.0%, in the Visayas, Moderate Hunger fell by 2.6 points from 8.3% to 5.7%, while in Mindanao, Moderate Hunger rose by 0.7 points from 6.0% to 6.%.

SEVERE HUNGER

The number of families who experienced severe hunger in Metro Manila hardly changed from 3.7% to 4.0% in Balance Luzon the number fell by 1.7 points from 3.0% to 1.3%, in the Visayas the number stayed at 1.0% while in Mindanao, the figure moved from 0.3% to 0%.

SELF-RATED POOR, SELF-RATED FOOD POOR

In the September 2023 survey, 48% of Filipino families rate themselves as Mahirap or Poor while 27% rating themselves as Borderline (by placing themselves on a horizontal line dividing Poor and Not Poor), and 25% rated themselves as Hindi Mahirap or Not Poor.

On the question based on the type of food eaten by their families, the latest survey found 34% of families rating themselves as Food-Poor, 35% rating themselves as Food Borderline (by placing themselves on the horizontal line dividing Food-Poor and Not Food-Poor), and 31% rating themselves Not Food-Poor.

The rate of Overall Hunger fell among the Self-Rated Poor, from 10.8% in June 2023 to 7.7% in September 2023, while it barely moved among the Non-Poor (Not Poor plus Borderline Poor) from 10.3% to 10.4%.

The rate of Overall Hunger also fell among the Self-Rated Food-Poor, from 9.4% to 7.0%, while it hardly changed among the Non-Food-Poor (Not Food-Poor plus Borderline Food-Poor) from 10.8% to 11.0%. — BAP, GMA Integrated News