1. Specific
targets
Sustainable Development Goals
2019
2018
2017
2016
Sustainable
Development Goals
2020 2021 2022
Particular goals include
addressing hunger and
malnutrition in the nation's
public and private sectors,
as well as fighting against
serious levels of hunger.
To eradicate extreme poverty
for all people everywhere,
currently measured as people
living on less than $1.25 a day
and reduce at least by half the
proportion of men, women
and children of all ages living
in poverty in all its dimensions
according to national
definitions.
Goal 1:
No Poverty
Goal 2:
Zero Hunger
In a resolution numbered 17-
2016, the government
procurement policy board
authorized the participation of
agricultural reforms beneficiary
organizations, also known as
ARBOs, sustainable livelihood
associations, cooperatives, and
other qualified farmers
organizations as service
providers in the government's
feeding initiatives aimed at
bringing the number of hungry
families to as close to zero as
possible. On September 23,
2016, this was approved.
The Philippines was ranked
68th out of 119 nations in a
2017 survey by the
International Food Policy
Research Institute, with a
worldwide hunger index of
20.0 percent. This
demonstrates a 0.2 percent
drop in the prevalence of
hunger since 2008 and one of
the significant breakthroughs
the nation made toward its
sustainable development
target.
With the passage of significant
legislation by food advocacy groups
in 2018, there is still hope for the 10-
year goal of eradicating hunger. The
Right to Sufficient Food Framework
Bill, House Bill No. 7193, which was
later modified from House Bill No.
3795, was introduced with the goal
of creating a comprehensive law
that would particularly address
hunger and food insecurity. All
governmental entities must
cooperate under the bill's provisions
in order to adopt a more united
strategy.
The World Food Programme (WFP) is
assisting the Filipinos in their fight
against hunger throughout 2019. In the
Philippines, the WFP completed its
own iron fortification project pilot,
demonstrating the viability of
supplying iron-fortified rice through
the national school feeding program.
Currently, WFP is working with a
number of line agencies in the
Bangsamoro region to reduce food
insecurity and malnutrition. One of its
most notable contributions is the
Social Behavioural Change
Communication Study it is carrying out
in Maguindanao to help understand
why people prefer less nutritious diets,
which results in various forms of
malnutrition.
The goal of Duterte's Executive
Order No. 101, which he signed on
January 10, 2020, is to assign a
group the duty of developing a
"National Food Policy" that will set
government priorities and chart
efforts to end hunger. Initiatives to
enhance nutrition, attain food
security, and support sustainable
agriculture will also be part of the
agenda. The government's
dedication to battling hunger was
reflected in the establishment of
this organization.
Around 70 organizations from the
corporate sector joined forces with
the government's Task Force Zero
Hunger (TFZH) in 2021 to launch
Philippines Kontra Gutom (PKG), a
multi-sectoral initiative with the aim
of eradicating hunger among one
million Filipinos. Aiming to "create
sustainable activities for targeted
beneficiaries that would address
difficulties with relation to food
availability and accessibility,
sufficient nutrition," this multi-sector
movement had a goal of helping
those in need. The work plan for the
anti-hunger campaign through 2021
was presented on February 15 during
a virtual media event.
The Philippines is on the right track to
achieving zero hunger; in fact, in August
2022, Century Pacific Group (CPG) and
Gawad Kalinga Community Development
Foundation, Inc. (GK) formally launched the
Zero Hunger Alliance, composed of
different organizations that is in line with
UN Sustainable Development Goal #2: Zero
Hunger. The said project grew out of a
feeding program called "Kain Po," a flagship
project of CPG's Foundation that provides
protein servings and meals to school-age
children from vulnerable communities
across the country. The group's goal for
2022 is to serve around 10 million meals to
various underserved communities in the
nation and almost 45 million meals have
been distributed by the Kain Po since it
started.
Listahanan, the national
household targeting system
for poverty reduction in the
Philippines, has reached three
out of four households across
the country. The objective
selection of 5.2 million poor
households in 2016 has
helped ensure that
government programs are
better targeted for those who
need it most.
The World Bank had estimated
the Philippines' poverty
incidence at 23.1 percent in
2017. The Filipino Government
has launched its Philippines
Development Plan in an effort
to combat poverty and hunger
and ramp up job creation in the
country. This plan was initiated
in 2011 and updated in 2017 and
has reported remarkable
success in job creation,
education and poverty
reduction.
The recently released national
poverty estimates show that
poverty incidence rose from
16.7 percent in 2018. In a 2018
publication, the World Bank
attributed the slow poverty
reduction rate to the less
propoor pattern of growth,
high inequality of income and
opportunities, and the adverse
impacts of natural disasters
and conflict in the country.
As of 2019, an estimated 64% of
Filipino households struggle with food
insecurity, and two in every 10
children under the age of 5 are
underweight. With the goal of reducing
poverty by strengthening economics,
President Duterte signed the Rice
Tariffication Law in February 2019,
amending the Agricultural Tariffication
Act of 1996. The Law places a 35%
tariff on imported rice with the goal of
prioritizing local rice production for
the population by stabilizing the
supply. The tariff also aims to benefit
local farmers by creating a more
efficient and competitive agricultural
system.
The COVID-19 crisis has affected all
aspects of life in the Philippines but
especially food access. A study
done in May of 2020 showed that
4.2 million families reported
struggling with involuntary hunger,
doubling since December 2019.
This is likely due to the economic
devastation and financial issues
that many countries around the
world have struggled with since the
pandemic. As of the latest data, at
least 9,205 centenarians have
already received their
PHP100,000-cash gift from the
government since 2016 under the
Centenarians Act
In 2021, poverty rose to 18.1
percent despite large
government assistance. The
economy has begun to rebound
but signs are emerging that the
recovery will be uneven.
Prolonged loss of income has
taken a heavy toll on the poorest
households. With food prices
going up and a reliance on
adverse coping strategies,
among them eating less, there is
a risk of serious consequences
for the health and nutrition of
children in vulnerable
households.
Continuous recovery in the labor
market from COVID-19 augurs well for
recovery in household incomes and
poverty reduction in
2022.Unemployment rate dropped by
1.7 percentage points from 7.7 to 6.0 in
June 2022 compared to June 2021.
Moreover, results from the most
recent May 2022 round of the World
Bank High Frequency Household
Survey (HFS) show that 51% of
respondents report that they had the
same level of income in May 2022 as
they did prior to the pandemic, while
20% report that they had greater
income.
Mark Anthony Ferrer
Roselle Caliso
