The Social Development Committee (SDC) XI, in its SDC XI 2^nd Quarter Regular meeting on May 28, 2021, endorsed to the Regional Development Council (RDC) XI, the proposed Php 12 billion, 4-year Philippine Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Project (PMNP), subject to the submission of the full-blown proposal and upon compliance with the comments /recommendations in the Project Evaluation Report (PER) that will be prepared by the NEDA XI Secretariat.

The proposed project shall undergo assessment and further evaluation by the NEDA-Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC) which is a requirement under the NEDA-ICC guidelines for projects amounting to Php2.5 billion and above.

The PMNP shall support the Philippine Government’s efforts to adopt a multisectoral nutrition approach to deliver a coordinated package of nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions across the various LGU platforms together with a harmonized social behavior change and communication strategy.

The project hall be implemented through the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) Zero Hunger headed by Office of the Cabinet Secretary that provides the national-level strategic direction of the project. The national agencies involved are DSWD and NNC, as co-implementing agencies and act as Project Management Offices, while DOH, DA and DILG shall provide technical support to NNC and DSWD, specifically in developing designs of interventions, policy and implementation guidelines, and conduct of capacity building activities. The LGUs are the beneficiaries and implementing units at the grassroots level. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and private institutions ae also represented in the project.

The PMNP consists of three major components. Component 1 focuses on strengthening the delivery of interventions that will directly address key nutrition concerns of children directly affected by stunting and livelihood interventions for their families. Component 2 aims to support LGUs and communities in preparing local nutrition action plans and institutionalizing nutrition concerns in the local development planning process and conduct activities on Social Behavior and Change Communications. The third Component focuses on the provision of personnel support to ensure delivery of project targets and activities including monitoring and evaluation.

The project shall be implemented in Davao del Sur, with 22 barangays in the Municipality of Magsaysay and 15 barangays in Malalag; and Davao Occidental, covering 12 barangays in the Municipality of Sarangani, 30 barangays in Malita, 15 barangays in Don Marcelino, and 22 barangays in Sta. Maria for a total of 79 barangays Region-wide, targeting mostly indigenous peoples (IP) communities. The project shall cover a total of 5,936 barangays in 235 municipalities in 26 provinces of the country. – Jaime P. Mallare, NEDA XI