In 2003, 24 percent of Filipino families had incomes below the annual per capita poverty threshold of P12 475, or around 4 million poor families. Of these, close to 1.7 million families had a monthly income less than the food threshold and are referred to as “food-poor”.

Since 2004, surveys indicated that the incidence of hunger in the Philippines worsened. The 2007 survey, revealed that 19 percent of Filipino families said they experienced hunger, and had nothing to eat at least once in the previous three months because they had no money to buy food.

In July 2006 a directive was issued by the President for an all-out drive to cut hunger incidence by half within one year. The government developed a holistic approach to mitigate hunger through the Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Program (AHMP).

Food insecurity and vulnerability information and mapping (FIVIMS)
While statistical information was readily available, identifying those who are hungry and where they are located was still a problem. Largely based on an FAO methodology, the Philippine Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping System (FIVIMS) facilitated the identification of food insecure and vulnerable provinces. The FIVIMS analysis showed that 49 out of 77 provinces are vulnerable to food insecurity in varying degrees. Another 10 provinces were classified as less vulnerable, while the remaining 18 were considered not vulnerable.

As a result, the Philippines National Nutrition Council (NNC) adopted the 49 highly vulnerable provinces as priority areas for AHMP implementation.

Unavailability or insufficiency of food to eat
On the supply side, measures to mitigate hunger include increasing food production capacity and productivity, enhancing efficiency of logistics and food delivery, public infrastructure, implementation of the Food-for-School Program and other feeding programs.

The Food-for-School Program (FSP) provides a daily ration of one kilo of rice to hungry families with children in Grade 1, pre-school and day care centres. It is an immediate stop-gap measure to mitigate hunger, and is implemented in priority municipalities in the 49 AHMP provinces and all villages in the National Capital Region.

The Tindahan Natin project provides low-priced but good quality rice and instant noodles to low-income families through an accredited store, serving 330 000 families in the National Capital Region.

Water transport facilities – ports and wharfs – have been constructed in 33 of the 49 AHMP provinces costing about P1.4 billion, improving commodity flows and marketing of agricultural products to maximize economic potentials.

Lack of money to buy food
On the demand side, programs aim at putting money in poor people’s pocket by providing skills, creating employment opportunities for poor and out-of-school, and improving access to microfinance. Other program cover public infrastructure and emergency employment programs, coconut farm support programs, promotion of good nutrition through information and education campaigns, and promotion of responsible parenthood.

In 38 AHMP provinces, the Gulayan ng Masa Program promotes integrated backyard gardening in rural communities through training and provision of seeds and planting materials, distribution of poultry, small ruminants, livestock and fingerlings.

Programs promoting good nutrition are implemented in all provinces, while programs that support population management cover 28 provinces. The League of Municipalities has conducted a campaign dubbed “Kung Maliit ang Pamilya, Kayang-kaya” to encourage families to achieve a manageable family size.

The results of the FIVIMS analysis provided a research-based identification of beneficiaries for the AHMP program, aimed at reducing hunger and addressing the needs of the poor and hungry.

For more information, contact Naoki Minamiguchi, AsiaFIVIMS, at [email protected]


More information at:
http://www.asiafivims.net/