Food insecurity recedes in PHL after pandemic — FAO

THE NUMBER of Filipinos experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity declined after the pandemic to 37.8 million during the 2022 to 2024 period, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

- By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza Reporter

This was equivalent to 32.9% of the population, the lowest share since the 44.7% during the pandemic years of 2020-2022, the FAO said in its State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report.

The Philippine hunger indicators were the third highest in Southeast Asia, where food insecurity averaged 14.4%.

The Philippine food insecurity rate was edged out by Cambodia with 40% and Laos with 35.6%. The equivalent numbers for the rest of the region were 32.7% for Myanmar, 16.7% for Malaysia, 10.7% for Vietnam, 9.5% for Singapore 5.4% for Thailand, and 4.5% for Indonesia.

The FAO said an estimated 8.2% or between 638 million and 720 million of the global population may have faced hunger in 2024, down from 8.5% in 2023 and 8.7% in 2022, amid “notable improvement” in Southeast Asia, Southern Asia and South America “in contrast to the continuing rise in hunger in most subregions of Africa and in Western Asia.”

The global number of undernourished is expected to decrease, but 512 million people are still projected to be facing hunger in 2030, of whom nearly 60% will be in Africa, it added.

Between 2022 and 2024, 3% or 3.4 million of the Philippine population was undernourished, the FAO said.

In Southeast Asia, the number of undernourished stood at 35.1 million during the 2022-2024 period.

The undernutrition rate in Southeast Asia averaged 5.1%.

Indonesia had the highest number of undernourished people with 17.7 million, or 6.3% of its population.

Leonardo A. Lanzona, who teaches economics at the Ateneo de Manila, said research indicates that many urban poor adolescents eat three times a day, with families from poor households often prioritizing the nutritional needs of their children, particularly those attending school.