As key implementor of the Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Program (PMNP), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has built 4,884 Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) subprojects in various municipalities nationwide.

Officer-In-Charge (OIC) Deputy National Program Manager (ODNPM) for Support Didith Bosoen of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) National Program Management Office said all these subprojects were brought to life with the active participation of the communities under the Community-Driven Development (CDD) approach of the KALAHI-CIDSS.

“Nakita po natin na yung CDD approach ay successful mechanism in implementing projects po doon sa communities. Because of the CDD, nagiging partner natin ang mga komunidad, hindi lang po sila recipients but we are both implementing the program through the participation of our communities,” the DSWD official told reporters at the Thursday Media Forum on July 10 at the New Press Center.

These subprojects are in line with the PMNP, a program jointly implemented by the DSWD and Department of Health (DOH) that aims to harmonize the delivery of government multi-sectoral interventions to reduce stunting of children in targeted localities around the country.

With the presence of ECCD and WASH subprojects, DNPM Bosoen said the government ensures that children benefit from functional projects conducive to enhancing their access to clean water, proper sanitation and hygiene practices, alongside crucial ECCD services.

“With PMNP, we aim to provide a comprehensive interventions kasi during the conceptualization of the program, based doon sa mga studies, napapansin po kasi natin yung local government units (LGUs) have nutrition programs pero hindi siya comprehensive. Ang gusto po natin ay comprehensive, na-aaddress yung kailangan ng isang bata para maging full ang kanilang development in terms of physical, intellectual and lahat ng kailangan para sa development ng bata,” the KALAHI-CIDSS DNPM told reporters at the forum.

The PMNP has three components. The component one is led by the DOH that aims to strengthen delivery of nutrition through primary health care; the second component led by the DSWD is focused on building subprojects to improve community-based multisectoral nutrition service delivery.

The third component is jointly undertaken by the DOH and DSWD to enhance sustainable nutrition financing and governance systems.

Now that the PMNP is on its third year and last stretch of implementation, the DSWD official said the agency is on track with the agency’s commitment to the program.

The more than 4,000 completed subprojects are already 100 percent of the targets projected by the DSWD under the three-year duration of the PMNP implementation.

“We are focusing on monitoring the sustainability of the projects para tuluy-tuloy ‘yung serbisyo sa mga communities,” DNPM Bosoen said. (LSJ)