Q3 poll shows hunger up 11.8% after record-low 9.5% last June

THE Social Weather Stations (SWS) in its Third Quarter 2017 Social Weather Survey found “11.8% or an estimated 2.7 million families experiencing involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months.”

SWS said this is 2.3 points above the 9.5% or an estimated 2.2 million families as of its June poll who said they experienced hunger at least once in the past three months.

The June survey showed then this reading was the lowest since the 7.4% of March, 2004.

The latest reading is similar to the 11.9% (est. 2.7 million families) quarterly Hunger in March this year, SWS said.

The survey was conducted Sept. 23-27, with face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults nationwide (600 in Balance Luzon, and 300 each in Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao) and sampling error margins of ±2.5% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% each for the other areas.

MODERATE, SEVERE HUNGER UP
“The 11.8% quarterly Hunger in September 2017 is the sum of 9.6% (est. 2.2 million families) who experienced Moderate Hunger and 2.1% (est. 493,000 families) who experienced Severe Hunger,” SWS said.

The polling group said moderate hunger refers to those who experienced hunger “only once” or “a few times” in the last three months, whereas severe hunger refers to those who experienced it “often” or “always” in the last three months. The few who did not indicate their “frequency of hunger” were classified under moderate hunger, SWS noted.

Both moderate hunger and severe hunger, which had been steadily declining since December 2016, increased between June and September 2017 — moderate hunger by 1.8 points to 9.6%, from 7.9% in June, and severe hunger rose by 0.5 points to 2.1%, from 1.6% in June.

EXCEPT MINDANAO
It was only in Mindanao where quarterly hunger fell, by 1.7 points from 11.3% (est. 523,000 families) to 9.7% in September. Moderate hunger in Mindanao fell by 2.3 points (from 10.0% in June to 7.7% in September), but severe hunger rose by 0.7 points (from 1.3% in June to 2.0% in September).

Quarterly hunger rose by 1 point in the Visayas, from 8.7% (est. 324,000 families) in June to 9.7% in September. Moderate hunger rose by 1.3 points (from 7.3% in June to 8.7% in September), but severe hunger fell by 0.3 points (from to 1.3% in June to 1.0% in September).

In Metro Manila, quarterly hunger rose by 0.4 points, from 11.3% (est. 353,000 families) in June 2017 to 11.7% in September 2017. Moderate hunger fell by 0.7 points (from 10.0% in June to 9.3% in September), but severe hunger rose by 1 point (from 1.3% in June to 2.3% in September).

Quarterly hunger rose by a considerable 5.5 points in Balance Luzon, from 8.3% (est. 645,000 families) in June to 13.8% in September. Moderate hunger rose by 4.8 points (from 6.3% in June to 11.2% in September), and severe hunger also rose by 0.7 points (from 2.0% in June to 2.7% in September).

“The 2.3-point rise in quarterly Hunger rate amid the 3-point increase in Self-Rated Poor and the steady Self-Rated Food-Poor proportions between June 2017 and September 2017 was due to an increase in the incidence of Hunger among both the Self-Rated Poor and Self-Rated Non- Poor, as well as among both the Self-Rated Food Poor and Self-Rated Food Non-Poor,” SWS said, adding:

“From June 2017 to September 2017, quarterly Hunger…rose by 3.1 points among the Self-Rated Poor, from 13.6% in June to 16.7% in September. It also rose by 1.1 points among the Non-poor (Not Poor plus Borderline) over the same period, going from 6.3% to 7.4%.”

“Prior to this, both values had been declining since December 2016,” SWS noted.

“It (Hunger) rose by 2.7 points among the Self-Rated Food-Poor, from 17.1% in June to 19.8% in September. It rose by 2.1 points among the Not Food-Poor/Food-Borderline, from 5.9% to 8.0%,” the polling group also said, adding:

“At any one point in time, quarterly Hunger among the Self-Rated Food-Poor is always greater than Hunger among the Self-Rated Poor.”