SDG #2: Zero Hunger

Sustainable Development Goal #2: Zero Hunger

The challenge is great, but our shared humanity is greater to end world hunger. According to the United Nations, Sustainable Development Goal 2 is about creating a hunger-free world by 2030. Statistics have shown that we are far from reaching this goal.

Philippine Statistics:

• According to FAO/SOFI data, around 37.8 million Filipinos, or 32.9% of the population, experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, around the 2022-2024 period. This marked a decrease from peaks during the COVID pandemic.

• A Social Weather Station (SWS) study released on June 28, 2025 revealed that 20% of Filipinos have gone through involuntary hunger at least once in the previous three months.

• After a steep decline from 27.2% in March, this number represents a minor gain from the 19.1% found in a prior survey done from April 11 to 15, 2025. The June, 2025 study was conducted between April 23 and April 28, 2025.

• The study showed the percentages of hunger prevalence per region in the Philippines were:

  • Mindanao: 26.3 %

  • Metro Manila: 20.3 %

  • Visayas: 19.7 %

  • Balance Luzon: 17.0 %

Philippine Initiatives and Policies: 

The Philippines has pursued various initiatives and policies aimed at improving its agricultural and fisheries sector aimed at resolving food insecurity for its population. 

• The Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA, RA 8435, 1997) provides plans for modernizing the country’s agricultural and fisheries sector by improving rural development and enabling institutional reforms.

• The National Food Policy launched in 2020 uses a "whole-of-government / whole-of-nation" strategy to address hunger, boost local production, and coordinate food security initiatives across different sectors.

Further initiatives have been proposed, such as the Zero Hunger Bill, which legislates coordinated implementation between institutions and major administrative mechanisms in ensuring food security.

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Sources:

Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997, R.A. 8435, Republic of the Philippines, 10th Congress, 1997. 

Atienza, K. (2025, July 28). Food insecurity recedes in PHL after pandemic — FAO. Business World. https://www.bworldonline.com/economy/2025/07/28/688103/food-insecurity-recedes-in-phl-after-pandemic-fao/

Eusebio, G. (2021). Quest for Zero Hunger: Food Security and Sustainable Development through the Proposed Right to Adequate Food Framework Act. ASSEMBLEA: An Online Journal of Political Science, 2(1). https://assembleajournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/assemblea-vol2-no1-pages21-42.pdf

Laqui, I. (2025, June 29). Hunger among Pinoys rises to 20% in April 2025 — SWS survey. Philippine Star. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2025/06/29/2454224/hunger-among-pinoys-rises-20-april-2025-sws-survey

United Nations Children's Fund. (2025, August 8). The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025. United Nations Children's Fund. https://data.unicef.org/resources/sofi-2025/

United Nations. (n.d.). Goal 2: Zero Hunger. United Nations. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/

World Food Programme. (2025, July 11). Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2025.

World Food Programme. https://www.wfp.org/publications/global-report-food-crises-grfc

World Health Organization. (2025, July 28). Global hunger declines, but rises in Africa and western Asia: UN report. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-07-2025-global-hunger-declines-but-rises-in-africa-and-western-asia-un-report