Sleeping off hunger pangs

“Hunger is not just an economic failure — it is a profound moral one. A nation that cannot feed its people has lost sight of its responsibilities.

If hunger were a sound, it would be the quietest noise in the world — a gnawing absence, a hollowed-out silence. But the numbers speak loudly, echoing with the rumble of empty stomachs across the nation.

According to the latest Stratbase ADR Institute-Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, 27.2 percent of Filipino families — about 7.5 million households — experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the first quarter of 2025. This means that more than one in four Filipino families went to bed without enough food, not knowing when their next meal would come. Among self-identified poor households, the number rises to 35.6 percent — more than one in three families for whom hunger is not a passing phase but a chronic condition.

Behind these statistics are real people: children rummaging through trash bins for discarded leftovers; adults collecting scraps of food to turn into “pagpag,” reheated and recooked meals destined for tables in urban slums. In the provinces, mothers water down rice porridge — “am” — to feed babies, while fathers quietly skip meals so their children can eat.

Hunger in the Philippines is not abstract. It is not a distant humanitarian crisis. It is a daily, grinding reality — and it is getting worse.

The 2024 Global Hunger Index ranked the Philippines 67th out of 127 countries, with a score of 14.4, classified as “moderate.” But this ranking belies the urgency of the situation. Our score is worse than the global average of 12.5, and we trail behind Southeast Asian neighbors Vietnam (7.1), Thailand (10.2) and Malaysia (8.5). We are not keeping pace — and we must ask ourselves why.

The answers are both systemic and immediate. Rising food prices, cited by 54 percent of respondents in the SWS survey, is the leading reason for hunger. Inflation has made even basic staples — rice, vegetables, fish — unaffordable for many. Despite government price caps and subsidies, families continue to feel the pinch. Global conflicts, supply chain disruptions and agricultural shortfalls have all contributed to food price instability.

Compounding this is the escalating impact of climate change, no longer a distant concern but a daily agricultural threat. Stronger typhoons, unpredictable rainfall, and drought have devastated local farms. Farmers who once harvested enough for consumption and livelihood now face withering crops and flooded fields.

At the root of this crisis lies deep, cyclical poverty. Even when food is available, it is out of reach for too many. Children go to school hungry. Laborers work on empty stomachs. The elderly quietly endure. Hunger is an economic problem — but it is also a deeply moral one.

The government’s Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty aims to link local food producers to institutional buyers like schools and hospitals. It supports cooperatives and strengthens the farm-to-table chain. These programs show promise — but they are being outpaced by the scale of the problem.

What more must be done? Agricultural resilience must be prioritized. Farmers need training, drought-resistant seeds, irrigation systems and affordable credit. Support for climate-smart agriculture — farming practices that adapt to and mitigate climate effects — is no longer optional, it is essential.

Social safety nets must be expanded. Programs like the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) improve short-term food access and school attendance, but critics argue they’re stop-gap measures. These initiatives must be paired with livelihood programs, nutrition education and community-led food networks.

We can also look outward for inspiration. Brazil’s Fome Zero (Zero Hunger) lifted millions out of food insecurity by investing in small farmers and guaranteeing them a market. Vietnam, once plagued by famine, reduced hunger through community health and nutrition campaigns. These are not perfect blueprints — but they prove that transformation is possible with the right political will.

Hunger is not just an economic failure — it is a profound moral one. A nation that cannot feed its people has lost sight of its responsibilities. The solutions exist — in successful models, in policy recommendations, in the lived experiences of families and farmers.

What’s missing is the urgency, the compassion and the political courage to act.