The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) vowed to continue to support the government’s effort to combat hunger and deliver timely and essential services to the marginalized and disaster-affected families and individuals in fulfillment of its role as member of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger (IATF-ZH).

As one of the member-agencies of the IATF-ZH, the DSWD leads the Key Result Area 5 which is to “Ensure Sustainable Food Systems, Resiliency and Food Stability for Emergencies.”

DSWD Secretary Rolando Joselito D. Bautista emphasized that it is the government’s top responsibility to provide quality and immediate relief assistance to guarantee food stability during trying times and catastrophes.

Among the Department’s initiatives to ensure food stability for emergencies is the provision of food and non-food items to disaster hit-areas. In the recent Typhoon Odette which struck the country in December last year, a total of ₱1,430,568,543.67 worth of humanitarian assistance was provided to the affected families and individuals, as of February 9.

The Department also continues to implement the Sustainable Livelihood Program, a capacity building initiative which provides opportunities to the marginalized, vulnerable, and disadvantaged individuals, families, and communities to enhance their livelihood assets and capacity to utilize their resources more productively. From 2020 to September 2021, the program has served 400,926 households.

Meanwhile, the DSWD has provided financial and material assistance, psychosocial support, and referral services to more than 2 million indigents or in crisis individuals through its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation. On the other hand, the DSWD has served 1,092,831 and 105,801 children with nutritious meals and fresh milk, respectively, through the Supplementary Feeding Program in 2021.

Another effort of the Department to end hunger in the country is the Gulayan sa Pamayanan. This project provides immediate social preparation and intervention to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program households in the National Capital Region who are not engaged in any Gulayan activity. Gulayan sa Pamayanan is a project between the DSWD, Office of the Cabinet Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Department of Education and Agrea Agricultural Communities International Foundation, Inc., with the support of World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Meanwhile, Secretary Bautista congratulated all the members of the IATF-ZH on the second anniversary of the task force on January 27.

In his anniversary message, he cited the contributions of member-agencies and development partners in the efforts to eradicate hunger and in the formulation of the National Food Policy (NFP).

“A plan or a policy, though how perfect it may seem, is nothing when it is not carried out accordingly. All of us in this task force must strictly ensure that the actual implementation of the national food policy must be delivered as envisioned,” he said.

“May we continue to work together to improve the lives of the poorest and marginalized sectors of our society,” the Secretary emphasized.

The DSWD remains committed to work hand in hand with other government agencies and partners in addressing not only hunger, but also poverty in the country. ###