QUEZON CITY -- In its effort to strengthen the capacities of the Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) under the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) Convergence Program, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through the EPAHP-National Program Management Office (EPAHP NPMO), gathered eight out of its 31 partner-agencies during a one-day framework presentation on the Digital Mapping System (DMS) for CBOs on July 5.

The framework presentations aimed to identify the existing systems and the monitoring and evaluation components being used by partner agencies and use that as a basis for creating and identifying essential features of the EPAHP DMS.

Through this system, it is envisioned that food security and nutrition will be achieved and sustainable agriculture will be promoted in the country. Likewise, this initiative will serve as a model to strengthen the capacities of CBOs and assist them in becoming front liners for the supply of food in the country.

The proposed project will also support the enhancement of the Monitoring and Evaluation framework of EPAHP that will capacitate the government agencies in monitoring the achievements of their respective expected outputs.

One of the main goals of the EPAHP is to contribute to the government’s goal of mitigating poverty incidence to less than 14% by 2022. It aims to support the CBOs and small-holder farmers through direct market linkages. This is in line with the government’s aim to reduce malnutrition to 21.4% by 2022 through the implementation of nutrition sensitive and nutrition specific interventions as stated in the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition 2017-2022.

Meanwhile, EPAHP partner agencies such as the Department of Agriculture (DA), DA-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Department of Education, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and the Cooperative Development Authority attended the said orientation.

As the lead agency of EPAHP, the DSWD will continue to contribute and come up with innovative solutions to achieve food security, reduce poverty, and end hunger and malnutrition. (DSWD)