Attachments
Overview
In 2022, the impact of compounded crises - including the global food and energy crisis and climate change - continued to challenge the food security and nutrition situation in the Philippines. Rising food prices, inflation, and multiple climate shocks - from strong typhoons to earthquakes - pushed back the country’s progress in recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
To support the Government, WFP delivered timely assistance and support aligned with its Country Strategic Plan 2018-2023 and the government's priorities. WFP directly supported more than 360,000 people in meeting their immediate humanitarian needs and strengthening resilience, mainly in areas affected by natural hazards and in the Bangsamoro region. In parallel, strengthening the government and partners' capacities at national, regional, and local levels remained a top priority.
The Government and the international community delivered a large-scale emergency response to Typhoon Rai (locally named Odette), which affected more than 12 million people, of which 2.4 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance. At the onset of the response, WFP provided in-kind food, cash, and voucher assistance to the affected population to help them meet their immediate needs. This was followed by the provision of early recovery activities to maintain food security and support the restoration of damaged community assets.
WFP augmented the Government’s capacity to respond to emergencies through logistics and emergency telecommunications support. Along with loaning emergency logistics equipment to the Government and establishing emergency logistics hubs, WFP provided 852 trucks to transport government relief items across the country. In addition, emergency telecommunications response vehicles, which were developed by WFP with the Department of Information and Communication Technology, were successfully used for the first time during the Typhoon Rai emergency response. Building on the lessons learned from Typhoon Rai, in 2022 WFP began the development of a smaller telecommunications vehicle prototype to provide connectivity to hard-to-reach areas during emergencies.
In the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) WFP applied a conflict-sensitive lens in its activities to support the peace process and promote food security, nutrition, and livelihoods. WFP provided technical assistance to further develop and implement tools, policies, and scalable initiatives aligned with the region’s food security convergence model. A major milestone was reached in 2022 with the launch of a pilot Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) programme in the municipality of Datu Abdullah Sangki in the province of Maguindanao in BARMM, following WFP’s long-term technical assistance to BARMM towards the institutionalization of HGSF. In parallel, WFP implemented Food Assistance for Assets (FFA) activities for over 22,600 beneficiaries to assist them in transitioning from conflict contexts, building food security, and developing sustainable and conflict-sensitive livelihood strategies.
WFP supported the capacities of the national and local governments to reduce vulnerability to shocks. Jointly with other United Nations agencies, WFP continued its work on implementing and institutionalizing the Anticipatory Action for climate shocks programme to support vulnerable populations before a disaster hits. To ensure its localized and responsive implementation, WFP participated in joint simulation exercises where targeted families received early warning messages and cash assistance.
To promote healthy diets and reduce malnutrition, WFP supported the Government in the development of policies and plans and implementation of capacity strengthening activities aligned with priority programmes from the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition. WFP conducted research to expand its Social Behaviour Change Communication strategy for BARMM by gathering context-specific information on food and nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices.
Along with SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) serves as one of the main pillars of WFP’s Country Strategic Plan. To reach its objectives, WFP collaborated with the Government, UN agencies, International Financial Institutions (IFIs), academia, the private sector and civil society groups. In 2022, WFP worked under a joint UN SDG-funded project, "Food Security Monitoring: Monitoring the Food, Energy, Finance Crisis towards Informed Policy and Response Options in the Philippines", together with the Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Labour Organization to monitor the impact of the global food, energy, and financial crisis towards informed policy and response options in the Philippines.