Gov’t intensifies drive to address poverty

Government agencies have joined forces to step up the campaign against hunger in the country. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) to implement a concerted and targeted “#GoodbyeGutom program” was sealed by member-agencies of the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cabinet Cluster in Malacañang Monday.

“Because of the MOU signing, we expect all the poverty and hunger reduction programs to accelerate. We can do it through cooperation and concerted action,” Nograles said in a statement.

“We need to all work together at ensuring that no one goes hungry in a country rich with natural resources. Allowing hunger to persist, especially among children, is simply unforgivable,” he added.

Under the program, the concerned government agencies will boost the anti-hunger and poverty projects initially in 32 provinces as priority beneficiaries.

The campaign includes institutional feeding programs, credit support and skills training for community-based organizations, nutrition education, building of agriculture and technology infrastructure, food hubs, technical and research training, partnerships with the private sector and provisions for education and anti-poverty advocacy.

The #GoodbyeGutom campaign seeks to drastically reduce hunger in the country by 2030, according to Nograles.

Members of the Cabinet cluster on poverty education include Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), National Nutrition Council (NNC), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Population Commission (PopCom).