Philippines 5th in world hunger survey

Four in 10 Filipinos had little or no food at all on their tables in the last 12 months, thus landing the Philippines in a list of African, Latin American, Asian and European countries whose citizens said that they "often or sometimes" lacked food in the past year, a worldwide survey on hunger said.

The results of the World Food Day survey by Gallup International-Voice of the People 2008 showed that 40 percent of Filipinos polled said that they lacked food "often or sometimes" in the last 12 months.

The survey also said that the hunger rate was highest in the nation's capital, Metro Manila, where at least 500,000 families lacked food.

The Philippines was in the league of African and Asian nations whose poor said they went hungry in the past year.

Cameroon topped the list at 55 percent, followed closely by Pakistan (53%) while Nigeria came third at 48. Peru was fourth with 42 percent, followed by the Philippines.

Next came Latin American countries Bolivia and Guatemala who were tied at 35 percent. Ghana was next at 32 percent while the rest of the top 10 spots were filled by Mexico and Russia (23 percent each). ABC-CBN News