Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian urged on Wednesday (July 17) members of the business sector to strengthen its partnership with national government agencies and local government units (LGUs) to end hunger and malnutrition in the country.
Secretary Gatchalian made this call during the launch of the Kain Tayo Pilipinas (KTP) Movement in Makati City where he reiterated the need for a whole-of-nation and a whole-of-society approach to eradicate hunger and malnutrition.
“We can improve the nutritional status of our Kababayans by forming and sustaining partnerships at the local, regional, and national levels to ensure a coordinated approach in delivering sustainable food systems that do not compromise our country’s economy, environment, or social systems,” the DSWD chief said in his message.
Secretary Gatchalian encouraged the members of the business group to work closely with LGUs, especially those that won in the Walang Gutom Awards 2024, as they already have working programs or models which aim to end involuntary hunger or address malnutrition in the community level.
“We all know that every locality has their own peculiar nuances, or their terrains call for different types of templates, or the culture or sub-culture in that area may be different, but they already found a winning solution. They only ask for the private sector to come in and partner up with these local government units,” Secretary Gatchalian pointed out.
In his message, the DSWD chief provided updates on the status of the agency’s implementation of anti-hunger and nutrition programs which include the Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP); Bangsamoro Umpungan sa Nutrisyon (BangUN) Project; Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Project (PMNP); and the Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program (FSP).
The KTP movement is a coalition spearheaded by the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP). It is composed of private sector organizations that aims to tackle malnutrition and food insecurity in the Philippines through the implementation of specialized and targeted initiatives tailored to the nutritional needs of specific vulnerable communities.
Aside from Secretary Gatchalian, other officials present in the launch were Bacnotan, La Union Mayor Divina Fontanilla; DSWD Asst. Secretary for Partnerships Building and Resource Mobilization Ana Maria Paz Rafael; World Bank Senior Country Officer for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand Dr. Clarissa David; National Nutrition Council (NNC) Executive Director and Asst. Secretary Azucena Dayanghirang.
KTP Chairperson Manuel V. Pangilinan led the private sector contingent which included KTP Board Member Manolito Tayag; PBSP Executive Director Elvin Ivan Uy; Zuellig Family Foundation President and Executive Director Austere Panadero; Galing Pook Foundation (GPF) Executive Director Georgina Ann Hernandez-Yang and Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Business Network Secretariat John Echauz.#
