Thursday, April 25, 2024

Tag: Poverty

Bigasan livelihood to support 18 solo parent groups in Malaybalay

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The project aimed at empowering solo parents and their children, 18 organized groups from various barangays, including Barangay 5, 7, 9, Purok 20 Casisang, Can-ayan, San Jose, Laguitas, Aglayan, Cabangahan, Bangcud, Apo Macote, Singnalan, Violeta, Maligaya, Silae, Kulaman, Sumpong, and Busdi, received bigasan livelihood support

The 2-day activity was held at the White House (Women and Children Family Crisis Center) on July 6-7, 2023.

The City government implemented this initiative with the primary goal of providing opportunities for solo parents and their children to cope with the financial demands of single parenting.

Recognizing the importance of sources of income for these families, a total amount of P 230,000.00 was allocated from the Special Program on Provision of Livelihood to Solo Parents under the Special Purpose Appropriation of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO).

Through various self-enhancement sessions conducted by CSWDO, the participants were equipped with essential skills to bolster their economic prospects. Additionally, regular monitoring and mentorship further strengthened the groups’ operations.

Each group received the necessary financial support to augment their daily and group income. The assistance provided is expected to create sustainable livelihood opportunities, significantly improving the quality of life for solo parents and their children.

The project aims to break the cycle of poverty and create a brighter future for solo parents and their families.

The event concluded with overwhelming gratitude and renewed hope among the participants. (LGU Malaybalay)

Northern Mindanao crafts six-year plan to reduce high poverty incidence

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CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines — The gross regional domestic product of Northern Mindanao grew by 7.2% in 2022, indicating recovery from the economic slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, residents of the region have yet to feel this improvement, according to an official from the state’s planning agency

“Poverty remains the biggest challenge,” said Mylah Faye Aurora Cariño of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in Northern Mindanao during the June 21 launch of the Northern Mindanao Regional Development Plan (NMRDP) for 2023-2028.
Cariño said Northern Mindanao had previously reduced poverty levels by 15 percentage points, and the six-year NMRDP aims to further reduce the poverty incidence among the population from 26.2% in 2021 to 15% by the end of 2028 and among families by 10%.
The 21-chapter NMRDP, developed through a series of consultations and focused group discussions among various stakeholders in the region, includes a list of 2,045 identified projects starting this year until 2028.
The objective is to increase Northern Mindanao’s ratio of hospital bed capacity to one bed per 1,000 patients by 2028 from the current one per 2,328
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She said these projects aim to stimulate economic activities, create jobs, and provide sources of livelihood, requiring over P3 trillion in public and private investments during the six years.
“The 2022 data is still incomplete until now; hence we used the 2021 figures,” said Cariño, who also serves as the vice-chairperson of the Regional Development Council (RDC) in Northern Mindanao.
Lanao del Norte Governor Imelda Dimaporo, the chairperson of the RDC, said the completion of the Panguil Bay Bridge project, connecting her province to Tangub City, Misamis Occidental, would facilitate the transport of goods, delivery of basic services, and movement of people.
Dimaporo said the development of Cagayan de Oro into a metropolis within the planning period would accelerate the region’s goal of becoming an international gateway in Mindanao by 2040.
The planned Metropolitan Cagayan de Oro aims to expand the region’s urban center to include 14 localities from the city’s nearby provinces.
The RDC-X aims to transform Northern Mindanao’s five provinces and nine cities into a “leading agricultural hub and major industrial, tourism, and trade center.”
NEDA Undersecretary Carlos Bernardo Abad Santos described the NMRDP as “meticulously crafted” and “aligned seamlessly” with the Philippine Development Plan for 2023 to 2028.
“This plan signifies not an end but rather the dawn of a crucial phase,” he told development council members.
He said strategies must be translated into tangible actions and continually evaluated while also addressing challenges such as inflationary pressures, climate change, and the spread of animal diseases. The region, he noted, has already become a major producer of livestock and poultry products.
Abad Santos acknowledged the region’s recovery from negative economic growth during the pandemic, placing it just behind the National Capital Region and the Cordillera Autonomous Region.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed that the region’s economy expanded by 7.2% last year, surpassing the 6.3% growth in 2021 and the 5.6% before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. This growth translated to an increase of P62.49 billion in the region’s gross domestic product.
The PSA-10 said a family of five requires an average of P11,920 per month to fulfill their basic food and non-food necessities in 2021, which corresponds to the poverty threshold in Northern Mindanao.
According to the report, the poverty incidence in the region was 26.2%, affecting approximately 1.72 million individuals that year.
During the first semester of 2021, Lanao del Norte showed the highest poverty incidence at 39.1%, affecting approximately 62,900 families. In contrast, Cagayan de Oro had the lowest poverty incidence of 11.6%, affecting around 22,600 families.
Although Bukidnon’s poverty incidence stood at 36.9%, it recorded the largest number of poor population and low-income families in the region. The province had 115,000 families or 605,500 individuals living in poverty, showed the PSA-X report. (Uriel Quilinquing/Rappler)

Robredo expands feeding program to cover food security, poverty alleviation

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Vice President Leni Robredo wants her feeding program to target problems in food security and poverty alleviation as these are linked to malnutrition and mental deficiencies among children aged five and below.

Robredo said that hunger and food security have always been one of the “basic thrusts” of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), which is why they are aiming for the program to become “sustainable.”

“Pero (But) how sustainable are they? Naalis mo sila sa (You take them away from) malnutrition, after a few months bumalik, kasi hindi mo naman na-address iyong (they’re back because you didn’t address the) root cause. Ang (The) root cause poverty,” Robredo said on the sidelines of her October 17 visit to Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.

She went there for the establishment of a community kitchen and garden, and the supplementary feeding program for undernourished children. Her office distributed vegetable seeds and garden tools to the beneficiaries so they can grow their own food.

“So sa akin, kung mayroong mga (For me, if there are) malnourished children, dapat ang inaasikaso hindi lang iyong mga bata. Pero ang inaasikaso iyong (we should be caring for not only the children. We should also address the) family na mabigyan sila ng maraming (to give them) opportunity na makaangat-angat sila sa buhay para iyong mga anak nila hindi maging (to rise from poverty so their children will not become) malnourished,” she added.

Bukidnon is among the top 36 provinces in the country with high levels of stunting among under-five children.

Stunting is when the child has a low height for their age due to malnutrition, repeated infections, and poor social stimulation.

The local government unit (LGU) in Malaybalay has reached out to the OVP to help address the problem so, in 2018, the OVP turned over P2 million to the LGU of Malaybalay City.

Robredo’s office said the program served 724 undernourished children ages 6 to 59 months and decreased the percentage of undernourished children in targeted barangays by 88 percent—from 724 to 93.

“The OVP also distributed vegetable seeds and garden tools to the select beneficiaries and were able to establish and monitor 50 communal gardens,” it added.

More than the stunting prevalence rate, Robredo is equally alarmed because malnourishment affects the mental faculties of the children and this is “irreversible” after the age of five.

“Kapag napabayaan natin iyong (When we neglect our) malnourished children na nakalampas na silang limang taon, hindi na natin sila binibigyan ng (when they’re over the age of five, we are not giving them an) opportunity makilaban sa mundo, eh. Pero na-affect iyong kaniyang capacity dahil sa (to survive in the world. His capacity is affected because of) malnourishment—sa pagiging malnourished niya. So iyong programa namin mas (for being malnourished. Our program is more) comprehensive,” the vice president explained.

The OVP’s feeding program is also being done in Panay Island, Iloilo province, Northern Palawan, and areas in Mindanao, among others.

The 120-day feeding program in Malaybalay started in November and ended in January, but Robredo said the food security and poverty alleviation program, which will ensure access to healthy food for the children, will continue.

According to the OVP, the “significant change in the malnutrition rate in the city” has a positive impact on the health and well-being of the beneficiaries where more than 88 percent are no longer malnourished “and will be able to safely play outdoors and develop practical life skills.”