Hunger in the country is measured using different parameters. While different measures are used, these are consistent in that the hungerproblem in the Philippines has worsened in the last few years.
a. Food threshold or food poverty
The official indicator for measuring hunger incidence is the subsistence incidence or food poverty generated from the results of the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) which is done by the National Statistics Office every three years. The most recent FIES in 2012 revealed that food poverty or subsistence incidence was estimated at 10.0 percent in the first semester of 2012. The figure has not significantly changed from the first half of 2009 at 10.0 percent and 10.8 percent in the first half of 2006.
Food poverty which is also the food threshold is the minimum income required by an individual to meet his/her basic food needs and satisfy the nutritional requirements set by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI). During the first semester of 2012, a Filipino family of five needed Php5,458 to meet basic food needs every month. Food poverty is also described as extreme poverty.
b. Food insecurity
The 2008 National Nutrition Surveys showed that 28.6% of mothers/caregivers experienced food insecurity. Among households, 72.7% were considered food insecure because they suffered anxiety that food may run out before they can get money to buy more and/or food bought did not last and they
did not have enough money to get more at least once during the past three months before the interview.
The survey also identified the coping mechanisms to food insecurity, as follows:
• Skipping meals
• Borrowing money and food from relatives, friends and neighbors
• Buying food on credit
• Adults eating less frequently
• Reducing portion sizes
• Shifting to less expensive foods like root crops, corn, banana
• Skipping school
• Working abroad.
c. Dietary adequacy and underweight for age
For the Millennium Development Goals, there are two measures for hunger. First, hunger is measured in terms of whether households are eating enough to satisfy their requirements for energy (calories). Data from the National Nutrition Surveys show that the percent of households with daily intake below the recommended 100% dietary energy requirement, actually increased from 57% in 2003 to 66.9% in 2008.
The other measure is the prevalence of underweight-for-age children below five years. Based on the latest survey, the prevalence of underweight-for-age among preschoolers was at 20.2% in 2011. This is slightly lower than the prevalence in 2008 which is 20.6%.
d. Self-rated hunger incidence
The Social Weather Stations, a private, non-stock and non-profit social research organization, conducts quarterly self-rated hunger surveys. Hunger refers to the involuntary suffering because respondents answer a survey question that specifies hunger due to lack of food to eat. The SWS asks 1,200 Filipino respondents: “In the last 3 months, did it happen even once that your family experienced hunger and did not have anything to eat?” Those who answered “Yes” were further asked: “Did it happen only once, a few times, often or always?” The survey classified experiencing hunger “only once” or “a few times” as “moderate hunger,” while going hungry “often” or “always” was rated as “severe hunger”.
Based on the SWS, the average overall hunger was 14.5% fromJuly 1998 to March 2013. The average incidence for moderatehunger was 10.8% and severe hunger at 3.7% in the same period.
In the First Quarter 2013 Social Weather hunger survey, 19.2% or an estimated 3.9 million families experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months. This is higher than the December 2012 survey result of 16.3% with an estimated 2.2 million families affected.
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