Sectoral Monitoring of the Situation of Indigenous Women and Girls During the Pandemic: Food Security Judy Pasimio Introduction Food is a universal right. In the 1996 historic World Food Summit held in Rome, the heads of states reaffirmed the right of everyone to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger. Two decades after, food insecurity remains to be a primary issue in many developing countries like the Philippines. A Social Weather Station (SWS) survey reveals that 2.1 million Filipino families continue to experience involuntary hunger in the last three months of 2019 (SWS, 2020)1. This number is about 8.8% of Filipino families. However, the number of hungry Filipinos increased during the first year of the pandemic. A similar survey conducted during the last quarter of 2020 shows a significant increase with over 7.6 million Filipino households experiencing involuntary hunger. The 30.7% increase is a record-high since 2012 with 23.8%2. The lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic have severely affected the food security of Filipino families. The most at-risk populations are those who are already struggling with poverty and hunger. Most of the daily wage earners for instance have no savings to stock up on food and basic necessities that could last for months. In indigenous communities, indigenous women and their families who are largely dependent on natural resources for food experience extreme difficulties aggravated by the pandemic. Food is a key issue for indigenous women, their families, and their communities. The production and source of food are key indicators of sustainability in indigenous communities. The quality and type of food are an indication of their state of health, and their immunity and vulnerability to certain illnesses and diseases. Thus, it is vital that indigenous communities, particularly indigenous women have control over food production. This requires that indigenous women have access to and control over their land and natural resources. 1 Social Weathers Station (2020). http://www.sws.org.ph/swsmain/artcldisppage/?artcsyscode=ART- 20200124143817 2 Manila Bulletin (2020). https://mb.com.ph/2020/09/27/7-6-m-filipino-households-experienced-hunger-sws/ Page 11 of 206