MANILA – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO) are up to jointly intensify efforts in institutionalizing the Anticipatory Action (AA) approach in the Philippines.
In a news statement on Wednesday, the DSWD said more than a hundred specialists from a community of AA practitioners will gather for the 6th National Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Action in Clark Field, Pampanga on May 11-12.
The two-day event, which banners the theme “Scaling up, Learning together,” will be attended by participants from national government agencies, humanitarian institutions, and development organizations.
The event will also highlight knowledge-sharing sessions and learning activities geared towards the adoption of AA in social assistance programs and social protection systems in the Philippines.
Anticipatory action is defined as an innovative approach that systematically links early warnings to a set of interventions aimed at protecting families and their assets ahead of a hazard.
Assistant Secretary Diana Rose Cajipe of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) said the platform would be an opportunity for key actors to assess the country’s AA landscape and identify the challenges, as well as areas for improvement in its implementation.
“This platform should serve to strengthen collaboration among government, civil society, the humanitarian and the development community, to help address food insecurity and disruption of livelihood during times of disasters,” Cajipe said.
Significance of anticipatory action
In the past 10 years, the strategic shift from responding to anticipating the impact of predictable shocks has been gaining attention globally.
Increased awareness about best AA practices, such as inter-agency collaboration to facilitate aid coordination, has been influencing countries in Southeast Asia to adopt the approach.
In the Philippines, the FAO has been working with humanitarian and development partners in piloting the approach at the local government level and helping build their capacity.
The FAO has also been closely collaborating with the DSWD in employing AA to help strengthen the government's social protection systems and policies to proactively reach and support vulnerable populations ahead of forecast shocks.
“Scaling up our efforts is critical to help mitigate the impacts of climate-induced hazards and build resiliency among the most vulnerable,” Lionel Dabbadie, FAO Representative in the Philippines, said.
Dabbadie said FAO is committed to sustaining the momentum with its partners in changing the way disasters are managed using the AA approach in the Philippines, aligned with the various efforts from international and national non-governmental agencies and government partners.
With the support of the European Union (EU), the national platform is organized in partnership with the members of the National AA Technical Working Group that include the World Food Program, Philippine National Red Cross, German Red Cross, START Network, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of Budget and Management, the Office of Civil Defense, and the National Economic and Development Authority.
The community of practitioners also counts government counterparts from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and local government units. (PNA)
