Many of the poor families in the country are unable to send their children to school.| Inquirer.net file photo
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu – The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7) has reported an increase in the poverty and hunger incidence in the region in 2021.
The increase was mainly caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the calamities that hit the region, Lovelyn Garcia, regional program coordinator of the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) of DSWD-7, said.
In order to address this, Garcia said they are now intensifying their partnership with other government agencies to ensure food sufficiency and the availability of affordable food/farm produce in the region.
“Usa ni ka convergence program or paghugpong sa mga national government agencies sa pagtabang sa pagsuta sa problema sa kapobrehon ug kagutom sa nasud,” Garcia said.
According to the agency’s “Poverty Statistics Report,” poverty incidence in the region increased from 13.4 percent in 2018 to 22.1 percent in 2021.
This means that 430, 000 families here are considered as poor.
Poor families include the farmers and the fishermen, who were the most affected especially by the typhoons that hit the region from 2019 to 2021, when the survey was conducted.
DSWD’7 Poverty Statistics Report is done every three years. The next one is shceduled in 2024.
In its 2021 report, a copy of which was released to CDN Digital on Sept. 10, DSWD-7 said that in terms of population, 27.6 percent of people in Central Visayas are considered as poor.
The figure, however, was lower compared to its 2015 data of 24.9 percent.
According to the report, Negros Oriental had the highest increase in poverty incidence at 23.6 percent in 2021, compared to only 19.4 percent in 2018.
This was followed Cebu at 22.8 percent, Bohol with 19.1 percent, and Siquijor with 2.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the magnitude of food-poor families also increased to 160, 000 in 2021 compared to 60, 000 in 2018.
The subsistence incidence among families in Central Visayas has also increased to 8.0 percent compared to 3.4 percent in 2018.
DSWD’s 2021 report said that every Filipino needs at least P2,602 per month to meet his/her basic food and non-food needs, while a Filipino family with five members needs at least P13,008 per month to meet their basic food and non-food needs.
Garcia said EPAHP is helping farmers and fisherfolk increase their productivity, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture and its attached agencies.
DSWD-7. she said, is also implementing feeding and other related initiatives to address the hunger incidence in Central Visayas. / dcb
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