The number of Filipino families who experienced involuntary hunger rose to 25.9% in December 2024, the highest since the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.
The latest figure is higher than the 22.9% recorded in September last year. It is also the highest since the 30.7% recorded in September 2020 when movements were limited to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The SWS defines involuntary hunger as “being hungry and not having anything to eat.”
In particular, 18.7% experienced moderate hunger, or those who experienced it only once or a few times, and 7.2% experienced severe hunger, or those who experienced being hungry often or always.
Compared to September 2024, the percentage of Filipino families who experienced moderate hunger rose by 1.9% from 16.8%, while the rate of those who experienced severe hunger increased by 1.1% from 6.1%.
Further, hunger in Balance Luzon rose to 25.3% in December from 18.1% in September.
In Visayas, it fell to 24.4% from 26.0%. It hardly changed in Mindanao, from 30.7% to 30.3%.
The non-commissioned survey was conducted from December 12 to 18, 2024, through face-to-face interviews with 2,160 adults nationwide: 1,080 in Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila) and 360 each in Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
The sampling error margins are ±2% for national percentages, ±3% in Balance Luzon, and ±5% each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao. — VBL, GMA Integrated News
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