DSWD, UNICEF forge partnership to improve social protection for children affected by disasters
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Philippine Country Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the implementation of a Standby Agreement on Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT).
The DSWD and UNICEF partnership, which was formalized on April 11, will strengthen the government’s provision of shock-responsive social protection measures to children and their families during emergencies and disasters.
Gatchalian said the partnership between the DSWD and UNICEF Philippines is an innovation that will provide social protection assistance that is tailor-fit for its intended beneficiaries.
“We know that every single vulnerable sector has distinct needs, especially in disaster response, so this is something that is innovative, that is new. It is a template that we can also adopt, cascade and expand, and we look forward to learning from it because it is new,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Dendevnorov affirmed that the partnership will provide “life-saving assistance to children and their families in times of emergencies.”
The MOU will serve as a basis for both parties for the implementation of a Standby Agreement on ECT to ensure that disaster-affected families or households and their children will have access to financial aid after an emergency using existing DSWD social protection programs and disaster response mechanisms.
The ECT is an adaptive strategy for bridging the gaps between immediate disaster relief, humanitarian response, and early recovery support through outright cash aid for disaster-affected families in areas under a state of calamity.