Established in 1999, FIAN Philippines is a section of FIAN International, a human rights organization that works
for the world-wide implementation of the right to food and nutrition (RTFN). Aside from playing a major role in
spearheading the national campaign for the Right to Adequate Food Bill, rural woman, women’s rights and agrarian
reform have been FIAN Philippines’ major foci during the last decade. Drawing on extensive studies on women’s
RTFN, secondary data, official statistics, interviews, experiences and case stories collected by FIAN Philippines, this
report highlights the importance of achieving women’s RTFN towards the full realization and enjoyment of women’s
rights and a life with dignity.
1. HUNGER AND MALNUTRITION AMONG WOMEN IN THE PHILIPPINES
Hunger continues to persist in the Philippines despite claims by the government that over the past 15 years (19902015) it had met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 1 target of halving the proportion of undernourished
population1. The fact remains that many Filipinos still lack enough food to eat. An estimated 2.6 million families (or
13 million individuals) experienced hunger in the last quarter of 2015, half of them women.2 Ironically, while women
struggle daily to feed their families, they are the most vulnerable to hunger. In 2015, the monthly food threshold, or
the amount needed to buy the basic food necessities, was 6,365 PHP (equivalent to about 136 USD) for a family of
five, but one out of 10 Filipino families had an income lower than the food threshold. 3 The Social Weather Stations
(SWS) found in the Fourth Quarter 2015 Survey that 11.7% or an estimated 2.6 million families experience involuntary
hunger at least once in the past three months.4
According to the latest (2013) National Nutrition Survey of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI),
10% of Filipino adults have Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED). CED is the most widespread nutritional deficiency
and it is said to be more prevalent among women.5 Although the survey showed a decreasing trend in iron deficiency
disorder, or anemia prevalence among Filipinos, the most alarming of the micronutrient deficiencies is still ubiquitous
among pregnant and lactating mothers (moderate) and infants (highest). 6 The survey also reported that due to poor
maternal health, 24.8% of pregnant women are nutritionally-at-risk, particularly underweight lactating mothers with a
minor increase from 11.9% in 2011 to 12.5% in 2013.7 The 8th National Nutrition Survey (2013) recorded 30.3% of
children between 0 to 5 years old are stunted, while two out of 10 children in the same age group are underweight. 8 In
Southeast Asia, the Philippines and Lao PDR have the highest prevalence of Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) among
children.9
Women and children suffer most from hunger and malnutrition in the Philippines. However, women are more
likely to go hungry due to unequal access to education, employment, resources and social services. Women are often
relegated to domestic roles and sacrifice their food intake for the sake of the well-being of other family members.
Furthermore, hunger is more prevalent in rural areas due to low rural incomes (regardless of whether a farmer or farm
worker), lack of access to productive resources and vulnerability of the sector to various shocks related to climate and
1
FAO (2015): Regional Overview of Food Insecurity in Asia and the Pacific. Towards a Food Secure Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok: FAO, http://www.fao.org/3/ai4624e.pdf [Accessed: 14.05.2016].
2
See Social Weather Survey (2015): Fourth Quarter 2015 Social Weather Survey: Hunger falls to 11.7% of families; Moderate Hunger 8.9%, Severe Hunger 2.8%,
https://www.sws.org.ph/pr20160113%20-%20Hunger%20in%20families%20(media%20release).pdf [Accessed: 12.05.2016]. According to the latest (2010) official Census of
Population and Housing (CPH), women constitute 49.6% of the total individual population. See Philippine Commission on Women (2014): Factsheet Women and Men, 3,
http://pcw.gov.ph/sites/default/files/documents/resources/factsheets_filipino_women_men_201402.pdf [Accessed: 12.05.2016].
3
National Anti-Poverty Commission (2015), http://www.napc.gov.ph/tags/food-threshold [Accessed: 12.05.2016].
4
See Social Weather Survey (2015): Fourth Quarter 2015 Social Weather Survey: Hunger falls to 11.7% of families; Moderate Hunger 8.9%, Severe Hunger 2.8%,
https://www.sws.org.ph/pr20160113%20-%20Hunger%20in%20families%20(media%20release).pdf [Accessed: 12.05.2016].
5
FNRI-DOST (2013): 2nd National Nutrition Summit. 8th National Nutrition Survey. Food and Nutrition Research Institute, Department of Health,
http://www.fnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/nutrition-statistic/19-nutrition-statistic/118-8th-national-nutrition-survey [Accessed: 14.05.2016].
6
Ibid.
7
Ibid.
8
FNRI-DOST (2013): 2nd National Nutrition Summit. 8th National Nutrition Survey. Food and Nutrition Research Institute, Department of Health, 11-15
http://www.fnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/nutrition-statistic/19-nutrition-statistic/118-8th-national-nutrition-survey [Accessed: 15.05.2016].
9
FAO (2015): Regional Overview of Food Insecurity in Asia and the Pacific. Towards a Food Secure Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok: FAO, 26, http://www.fao.org/3/ai4624e.pdf [Accessed: 15.05.2016].
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