The national Social Weather Survey of November 21-25, 2020 found that 16.0% or an estimated 4.0 million families experienced involuntary hunger – hunger due to lack of food to eat – at least once in the past three months.
The November 2020 Hunger rate is 15 points below the record-high 30.7% (est. 7.6 million families) in September 2020. Nevertheless, it is double the pre-pandemic 8.8% (est. 2.1 million families) of families in December 2019.
Average hunger for the full year is new record 21.1%
With hunger at 16.7% in May, 20.9% in July, and 30.7% in September, the average hunger rate for the full-year 2020 is a new record 21.1% of families. It surpasses the previous record of 19.9% in 2011 and 2012, and is double the average 9.3% for 2019 [Chart 2].
Hunger is 23.3% in Metro Manila, 16.0% in Mindanao, 14.4% in Balance Luzon, and 14.3% in the Visayas.
Metro Manila now has the highest incidence of Hunger at 23.3% (est. 780,000 families), followed by Mindanao at 16.0% (est. 909,000 families), Balance Luzon at 14.4% (est. 1.6 million families), and the Visayas at 14.3% (est. 674,000 families) [Charts 3-7, Tables 2-6].
In September 2020, Hunger was at 40.7% (est. 1.9 million families) in the Visayas, 37.5% (est. 2.1 million families) in Mindanao, 28.2% (est. 941,000 families) in Metro Manila, and 23.8% (est. 2.6 million families) in Balance Luzon.
Moderate Hunger 12.6% and Severe Hunger 3.4%
The 16.0% Hunger rate in November 2020 is the sum of 12.6% (est. 3.1 million families) who experienced Moderate Hunger and 3.4% (est. 838,000 families) who experienced Severe Hunger.
Moderate Hunger refers to those who experienced hunger “Only Once” or “A Few Times” in the last three months. Meanwhile, Severe Hunger refers to those who experienced it “Often” or “Always” in the last three months.
Nationwide, Moderate Hunger and Severe Hunger are 12.6% and 3.4%, respectively, in November 2020 compared to 22.0% and 8.7% in September 2020.
In Metro Manila, Moderate Hunger and Severe Hunger are 16.7% and 6.7%, respectively, in November 2020 compared to 20.1% and 8.1% in September 2020.
In Balance Luzon, Moderate Hunger and Severe Hunger are 11.6% and 2.8%, respectively, in November 2020 compared to 18.6% and 5.2% in September 2020.
In the Visayas, Moderate Hunger and Severe Hunger are 10.0% and 4.3%, respectively, in November 2020 compared to 25.7% and 15.0% in September 2020.
In Mindanao, Moderate Hunger and Severe Hunger are 14.3% and 1.7%, respectively, in November 2020 compared to 26.9% and 10.6% in September 2020.
The hunger proportion rises among both the poor and the non-poor
The November 2020 survey, the first in 2020 to measure Self-Rated Poverty, found 48% of families rating themselves as Poor, 36% feeling Borderline Poor, and only 16% feeling Not Poor. It also found 31% of families rating themselves as Food-Poor, 47% feeling Borderline Food-Poor, and 22% feeling Not Food-Poor (“Fourth Quarter 2020 Social Weather Survey: Only 16% of Filipino families say they are Not Poor; 48% feel Poor, 36% feel Borderline Poor,” 14 December 2020, www.sws.org.ph).
From December 2019 to November 2020, Overall Hunger (i.e., Moderate plus Severe) rose among the Self-Rated Poor, from 12.8% to 21.7%. It also increased among the Non-Poor (Not Poor plus Borderline Poor) over the same period, up from 4.1% to 10.6% [Chart 8].
Overall Hunger also rose among the Self-Rated Food-Poor, up from 15.5% in December 2019 to 28.1% in November 2020. It rose among the Non-Food-Poor [Not Food-Poor plus Borderline Food-Poor], up from 5.1% to 10.5% [Chart 9].
At any one point in time, Hunger among the Self-Rated Food-Poor is always higher than Hunger among the Self-Rated Poor.
Source: SWS