The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is scaling up its food program to address hunger in the country following the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that showed hunger had risen nationwide in the first quarter of 2024.

Social Welfare Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao yesterday said the DSWD will continue to work with the partners and government agencies concerned, it being the chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger (IATF-ZH).

Dumlao said the issuance of Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 47 directing all government agencies to support the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) Program is a major boost to their drive to address the growing hunger and poverty among Filipinos.

“The DSWD will now have the whole bureaucracy as a partner in addressing hunger in the country with Malacañang’s issuance on April 19 of MC 47 directing all government agencies and instrumentalities to support the EPAHP program,” Dumlao said during the regular DSWD news briefing on Thursday.

“The MC was very timely, especially with the latest SWS report on increasing hunger in the country,” she said.

She stressed that the entire bureaucracy must get involved in addressing hunger and poverty in the country.

“The MC will fast-track the implementation of anti-hunger initiatives and ensure that these efforts will achieve results with the whole government working together and sharing resources,” Dumlao, also the DSWD spokesperson, said.

The EPAHP is one of the banner programs of the IATF-ZH that aims to attain zero hunger and food and nutrition security.

According to an SWS survey conducted from 21 to 25 March, the 14.2 percent of Filipino families who experienced involuntary hunger was higher than the December 2023 figure of 12.6 percent and was the highest since May 2021 when it reached 16.8 percent.