The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) vowed to continue to support government efforts to combat hunger by delivering timely and essential services to the marginalized and disaster-affected families and individuals.

As one of the member-agencies of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger (IATF-ZH), the DSWD is particularly tasked to lead the fifth key result area to "ensure sustainable food systems, resiliency, and food stability for emergencies."

DSWD Secretary Rolando Joselito D. Bautista emphasized that it is the government’s top responsibility to provide quality and immediate relief assistance to guarantee food stability, especially during times of crisis.

One of the DSWD's initiatives to ensure food stability for emergencies is the provision of food and non-food items to disaster hit-areas.

Almost two months after typhoon Odette battered the country, the DSWD was able to provide ₱1.43 billion worth of humanitarian assistance to the affected families and individuals as of Feb. 9.

It also continues to implement the Sustainable Livelihood Program--a capacity-building initiative that provides opportunities to the marginalized, vulnerable, and disadvantaged individuals, families, and communities to enhance their livelihood assets and capacity to utilize their resources more productively.

From 2020 to September 2021, the program has served 400,926 households.

Meanwhile, the DSWD has provided financial and material assistance, psychosocial support, and referral services to more than 2 million indigents or in crisis individuals through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation.

Moreover, it has served 1,092,831 and 105,801 children with nutritious meals and fresh milk, respectively, through the supplementary feeding program in 2021.

Another effort of the DSWD to end hunger in the country is the implementation of the "Gulayan sa Pamayanan" program, which provides immediate social preparation and intervention to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program households in Metro Manila who are not engaged in any Gulayan activity.

Gulayan sa Pamayanan is a project led by the DSWD, Office of the Cabinet Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, and Agrea Agricultural Communities International Foundation, Inc., with the support of the World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Bautista congratulated all the members of the IATF-ZH on the second year of the task force on Jan. 27.

In his anniversary message, Bautista cited the contributions of member-agencies and development partners in the efforts to eradicate hunger and in the formulation of the National Food Policy.

"A plan or a policy, though how perfect it may seem, is nothing when it is not carried out accordingly. All of us in this task force must strictly ensure that the actual implementation of the national food policy must be delivered as envisioned," Bautista said.

"May we continue to work together to improve the lives of the poorest and marginalized sectors of our society," he added.