The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) 6 participated in the week-long Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Project (PMNP) Regional Implementation Team Technical Orientation held at Westown Hotel, Iloilo City, from September 11 to 15, 2023. The five-day orientation workshop includes discussions on the project implementation arrangements, local nutrition action planning, financial management guidelines, and the orientation on the performance-based grants for the LGUs.

The PMNP is a joint undertaking of the Department of Health (DOH), the UN, and the World Bank to effectively respond to the scale and complexity of malnutrition in the Philippines, which requires a multi-agency and multi-sector approach. Various government agencies such as DOH, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Agriculture (DA), the National Nutrition Council (NNC), and the DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) will implement this four-year project.

In 2021, the Regional Development Council of Western Visayas supported the project by endorsing RDC Resolution Nos. 46 and 65 entitled, “Endorsing to the NEDA-Investment Coordinating Committee (NEDA-ICC) the Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Program of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger” and “Reaffirming the Endorsement of the Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Program to the NEDA-ICC” respectively.

Under the project, the Municipalities of Badiangan, Carles, Duenas of Iloilo Province, Calatrava, and Don Salvador Benedicto of Negros Occidental Province are the target beneficiaries for the region. The orientation workshop was a venue for the lead implementing agencies and beneficiaries to harmonize their programs and enhance their capacity to ensure that all necessary documents are to qualify for the grant. (RADeJuan/DRD)