As the nation’s premier advisor to government, the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) has taken an active role in studying the extent to which the country is meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and its attendant difficulties, through empirical measurements.

On February 2, 2010, a Roundtable Discussion (RTD) on the MDG #1(Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger) was held in Traders Hotel, Pasay. This RTD, convened by the Social Sciences Division of NAST had for its objectives: (1) to determine the factors that affect the dynamics of hunger incidence, (2) to determine the prevalence of the hunger incidence, (3) to come up with recommendations on lowering the prevalence of hunger incidence, and (4) to present statistics related to poverty and hunger.

Secretary General of the National Statistical Coordination Board Dr. Romulo Virola started the discussion by presenting the topic "MDG #1: Will the Philippines make it by 2015?". He pointed out what statistics should do and/or offer: (1) it must be relevant to the society; (2) it must inform decisions; (3) it must serve as a tool for good governance; and (4) it must be able to help answer the question.

Dr. Virola also presented two targets and five indicators for the MDG #1. The first target is to halve the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day, between the years 1990–2015.  Under this target are three indicators— the proportion of population whose income is below one dollar per day, the poverty gap ratio and the share of poorest quintile in national consumption. The second target, on the other hand, aims to halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger, between the years 1990–2015. And under this target are two indicators: the prevalence of underweight children under the age of 5 and the proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy.

According to the statistics presented by NSCB, the probability of halving the poverty between 1990 and 2015 was down to medium progress pace of 0.5 to 0.9. On the first indicator, the estimate is two years behind the target, while the second indicator is 5 years ahead. Indicator number four is six years behind and the fifth indicator is two years behind.

Dr. Jocelyn Juguan, senior science research specialist of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), focused on the second target of MDG #1 on hunger reduction. Dr. Juguan presented the FNRI's national nutrition surveys.  Furthermore, she cited the recommendations of the World Health Organization on infant feeding: exclusive breastfeeding from birth to six months, nutritious, age-appropriate and safe complementary foods from six months onward, and continuous breastfeeding until two years of age.

According to FNRI's reports, the number of exclusively breastfed children has been decreasing from years 2003–2008. It was also reported that only 83% of children met the energy requirement. Dr. Juguan emphasized that the prevalence of low-birth weight babies can be traced to the increasing number of at-risk pregnant women.
 
Dr. Claire Dennis Mapa, the Director for Research of the UP Diliman School of Statistics, showed the trend of involuntary hunger incidence from the year 1999–2009. Dr. Mahar Mangahas, the president of the Social Weather Stations, Inc., presented SWS survey results on the degree of hunger in households from July 1998 to December 2009.
 
The roundtable discussion concluded with four recommendations: (1) Policy- and decision-makers, at the national and sub national levels of both the government and private sector, must appreciate, understand, use and invest in statistics for an evidence-based decision making. (2) Local Government Units and line agencies should practice statistical capacity-building. (3) NSCB should be given resources to establish its regional divisions in all regions of the country for more balanced statistical development.  (4) Statistics must be demand-driven and statistical agencies must be relevant to stakeholders.
 
 
The Roundtable Discussion on Millennium Development Goal #1: Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger was organized by the National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines. The focal person for this RTD was Academician Arsenio M. Balisacan.