The number of Filipino families who said they experienced "involuntary hunger" went down from 3.1 million in the first quarter of 2022 to 2.9 million in the second quarter, according to a recent poll of the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

Based on a non-commissioned survey conducted by the SWS from 26 to 29 June 2022, 11.6 percent of Filipino families, or an estimated 2.9 million families experienced hunger at least once in the past three months.

The poll defined the term involuntary hunger as being hungry and not having anything to eat at least once in the past three months.

SWS said that the latest figure is also 0.2 points below the 11.8 percent, or approximately three million families, recorded in December 2021.

However, it was 1.6 points above the 10 percent or an estimated 2.5 million families in September 2021. It was also 2.3 points above the pre-pandemic annual average of 9.3 percent in 2019.

'Hunger less in NCR, Visayas'

The survey also showed that the incidence of hunger is still highest in Metro Manila at 14.7 percent or around 501,000 families.

However, the latest figure states that hunger incidence in the region declined by 3.9 points from 18.6 percent.

The hunger incidence also declined in the Visayas by 2.1 points from 7.8 percent, or an estimated 373,000 families in April, to 5.7 percent, or an estimated 272,000 families in June.

In contrast, the hunger rate in Mindanao went up by 0.9 points from 13.1 percent in April to 14.0 percent in June.

Likewise, the latest poll also showed an increase in hunger rate in Balance Luzon by 0.2 points from 11.7 percent, or an estimated 1.3 million families in April to 11.9 percent, or an estimated 1.4 million families in June.

'Moderate hunger, severe hunger'

The same survey also reported that around 2.4 million Filipino families experienced "moderate hunger" while around 540,000 families experienced "severe hunger."

The polling firm defined moderate hunger refers to those who experienced hunger "only once" or "a few times" in the previous three months, while severe hunger refers to those who experienced it "often" or "always" in the last three months.

It also said the survey was participated by 1,500 adults, through face-to-face interviews, with sampling error margins of ±2.5 percent for national percentages and ±5.7 percent each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao and ±4.0 percent in Balance Luzon.