AusAID gives P31-M to DSWD livelihood program

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The Australian government gives the Philippines a P31 million technical assistance grant for DSWD livelihood programs for poor families

LIVELIHOOD. DSWD field officers organize partner-beneficiaries into groups within their communities. Photo from DSWD

MANILA, Philippines – In an effort to help reduce poverty in the Philippines, the Australian government on Thursday, March 6, released a P31 million grant to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for its livelihood development programs.

The grant, given through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), will provide technical assistance to DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) covering a period of 2 years – from May 2013 until April 2015. 

SLP is the department’s effort to enhance income-earning opportunities for poor families. 

The technical assistance works toward improving the policy framework of SLP for conditional cash transfer beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). The support involves 3 aspects:

  • Scaling up micro-enterprise development
  • Creating employment opportunities
  • Capacity development

AusAID consultants will help in strengthening each component through various activities.

Ending poverty

DSWD assists over 5 million poor families nationwide through social protection and poverty reduction programs whose end goal is inclusive growth. 

Social Welfare secretary Dinky Soliman said the programs aim to break the “inter-generational cycle of poverty” among poor families.

Walang maiiwan sa kaunlaran,” Soliman assured the public. (No one will be left behind in development)

The administration’s flagship poverty reduction program, 4Ps, invests in human capital through health, education, and family development. It provides cash grants to families on the condition that they send their children to school and to health centers for regular check-ups. 

SLP, on the other hand, aims to improve socio-economic mobility among beneficiaries. It  

Micro-enterprise development

Using a community-driven enterprise development (CDED) approach, SLP encourages participants to engage in “resource-based, market-driven community enterprises.”

AusAID will help assess and identify effective livelihood practices and recommend which practices may be modified for expansion. The agency will also help craft a plan on how the poor can have more access to financial services. 

Aside from AusAID, DSWD works with various government agencies to address the needs of the poor and vulnerable. 

Looking forward

Since its launch in 2011, SLP has served 280,427 beneficiary families through 4Ps.

The program provided skills training, product development and marketing, microenterprise developement, credit and financial assistance, capacity building, and direct employment to more than 140,000 families.

This was possible through the joint efforts of over 533 partners from both the private and public sector. Soliman earlier said that the social welfare department hopes to strengthen its partnerships with other institutions and civil society organizations. (Read: DSWD, Ateneo partner for sustainable livelihood programs)

SLP aims to serve 482,441 beneficiary families in 2014. With the help of the technical assistance from the AusAID, Soliman said all these families will benefit from the enhanced strategies. Rappler.com

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