The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), headed by Secretary Erwin T. Tulfo, reaffirmed its commitment to strengthen the partnership and further ignite its collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP), during a courtesy call at the DSWD Central Office on Friday, October 21, 2022.
During the meeting, Secretary Tulfo recognized the UNWFP’s assistance in strengthening the Department’s disaster preparedness and response efforts and in mitigating hunger and malnutrition in the country.
The DSWD also expressed its commitment and extended its cooperation to deepen the partnership with the UNWFP to attain its vision of a society where the poor, vulnerable, and disadvantaged are empowered.
“Our sincerest gratitude for UNWFP’s continuous support to the Department. Our strong collaboration and the gains that we have achieved in the previous cooperation brought forth additional partnerships in food security and nutrition, specifically on the implementation of the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty; capacity-building activities along emergency preparedness; and technical assistance in the area of emergency response,” Secretary Tulfo said.
“It is widely known that we can do so little, but together, we can do so much,” he added.
For his part, UNWFP Philippines Deputy Country Director Dipayan Bhattacharyya pledged to assist the DSWD in the area of disaster preparedness and response capacity strengthening; help in transforming the Department’s social protection to become more shock responsive and nutrition–sensitive; provide support in systems strengthening for the digitalization of the delivery of social protection packages; and extend their existing participatory tool that can be used in the implementation of two of DSWD’s core programs which are the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) and the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).
The UNWFP, the largest humanitarian organization in the world, is one of the partners of the DSWD in providing immediate relief assistance to communities affected by disasters and calamities all over the country. ###
