MANILA, Philippines – Is the Philippines on track in its fight against hunger? 

The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the right to food will visit the Philippines from February 20 to 27 to gather information on the state of food accessibility among Filipinos.

Hilal Elver will assess the effectiveness of efforts implemented to achieve food and nutrition security.

“Despite encouraging development progress made in recent years, access to sufficient and nutritious food is still reportedly limited by poverty and income levels, with the devastating impact of Typhoon Haiyan placing already vulnerable communities in a precarious situation,” Elver said in a statement.

According to the results of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted in December 2014,  41% or an estimated 9.1 million families consider themselves food-poor. Meanwhile, 18.3% of the country’s households said they experience hunger. (READ: How hungry was the the Philippines in 2014?)

This is the first time an expert on the right to food from the UN Human Rights Council will visit the country.

Right to food

The right to food is part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN General Assembly in the 1940s.

The Special Rapporteur, an independent expert, is expected to meet with representatives from different sectors such as the government, UN system, international agencies, development community, and officials from the Commission on Human Rights.

Invited by the Philippine government, she will discuss with authorities the different challenges and obstacles preventing the proper realization of the right to food.

During her 7-day visit, Elver also hopes to help these communities by pointing out possible strategies they can undertake to improve the food accessibility of those most vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition.

The output of her visit is a special report based on her findings and observations to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2016.

Elver, also the co-director of Orfalea Center for Globa and International Studies’ Project on Global Climate Change, Human Security, and Democracy at the University of California, was appointed by the Human Rights Council in 2014. – Rappler.com