The World Bank has hailed the “exceptional performance” of Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan - Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) National Community-Driven Development Program (NCDDP) in providing effective and efficient social services to some poorest and most vulnerable communities in the country amid the continued threats of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The global financial institution’s observations, findings, and recommendations on the implementation of the Community-Driven Development (CDD) approach by the KALAHI-CIDSS NCDDP since 2014 were presented during the 12th Implementation Support Mission (ISM) for the program on May 28.
“During the 12th ISM, the World Bank noted the exceptional performance of KALAHI-CIDSS NCDDP in its provision of effective and efficient social services to some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities in the Philippines, especially in light of the limitations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, through the full use of its Disaster Response Operations Modality (DROM),” the DSWD said in a statement issued on Monday.
It was DSWD Secretary Rolando Joselito D. Bautista who chaired the ISM.
“DROM enabled Kalahi-CIDSS covered areas to shift its operations from regular developmental activities into a disaster response modality to hasten the approval of community projects that will enable communities to manage and adapt to the challenges brought about by the pandemic.”
KALAHI-CIDSS is one of the poverty alleviation programs of the DSWD, along with the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC), Supplemental Feeding Program (SFP), and Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).
It seeks to empower barangays to achieve improved access to services and to participate in more inclusive local planning, budgeting and implementation.
"KALAHI-CIDSS uses the CDD approach to ensure people-centered development by providing assistance, capacity-building, and implementation support to poverty-disadvantaged and disaster-affected municipalities. Through the program, community members actively participate to identify and prioritize their community’s problems and allow them to design, implement, and manage solutions to their priority problems.”
Citing the World Bank’s findings, the DSWD said a total of 2,425 community sub-projects were completed, 44 percent of which “were related to COVID-19 response in the form of quarantine and isolation facilities.”
“The cash-for-work scheme also provided much-needed income for community members to augment their livelihood.”
During the ISM, World Bank Operations Manager for the Philippines cited that Community-Driven Development became an integral part of the country’s COVID-19 response, as it paved the way for the provision of much needed facilities and resources to poor and marginalized communities.
“Results from an assessment of the DROM also showed that some local government units expressed that KALAHI-CIDSS NCDDP, through its participatory process, was instrumental in disseminating COVID-related information in their communities,” the DSWD said.
“Furthermore, the program allowed communities to build stronger partnerships with local health officials, thus, enabling them to better implement health and safety protocols not only in implementing the sub-projects, but also in making the quarantine and isolation facilities operational.”
Bautista attributed the continued delivery of social services to the marginalized communities to the DROM of KALAHI-CIDSS.
He cited that CDD has also encouraged citizens to take an active role in the identification, implementation, and management of community sub-projects, and improved the pandemic response within their respective communities.
“DSWD is committed to sustain the achievements of the program and hope that these would be integrated into the local development process in partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to ensure the attainment of people-centered development around the country.”