Attachments
In Numbers
332 mt of iron-fortified rice distributed
US$816,212 worth of food vouchers distributed
US$4.2 million six-month (August 2024–January 2025) net funding requirements
39,771 people assisted in July 2024
Operational Updates
Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF)
• On 23 July, WFP, with government representatives of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), development partners, teachers, parents, and students, launched the HGSF in Cotabato City. By sourcing food locally, HGSF now provides more than 1,500 students with hot, nutritious meals. WFP distributed over 20 mt of iron-fortified rice to support HGSF activities in nine pilot schools in Maguindanao for the next three months.
• In the lead-up to the joint HGSF launch, WFP and key government stakeholders in BARMM signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for HGSF. Through this MOA, WFP will provide technical assistance in implementing the national School-Based Feeding Program, by integrating the HGSF approach.
• WFP conducted food safety and quality training sessions for school heads, school meals coordinators, cooks, and assistants in pilot schools. Participants agreed on ways to improve the school kitchen and food storage facilities, such as providing wooden pallets to properly store rice sacks.
Emergency Preparedness
• WFP formalized its partnerships with the provincial governments of Albay, Catanduanes, Maguindanao del Sur, and Surigao del Norte to build resilience against shocks and stressors through the signing of MOA. Focused on emergency preparedness and response, the agreements included the handover of mobile storage units (MSUs) from WFP to the provinces. To ensure proper use of the MSUs, WFP trained provincial government staff in Albay, Catanduanes, and Maguindanao del Sur on the installation, dismantling, and storage of the units.
Logistics
• The compounded effects of Typhoon Carina and the enhanced southwest monsoon brought intense rains, triggering localized floods and landslides, affecting 6.3 million people. To support the Government’s response, WFP mobilized 23 trucks and 14 shipping containers to transport: 61,200 family food packs (FFPs); and 13 mt of sleeping, hygiene, and kitchen kits from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) warehouses. The FFPs transported via land and sea freight reached 306,000 people.
Emergency Telecommunications (ETC)
• WFP delivered an upgraded GECS-MOVE set to the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s regional office in Zamboanga City.3 Government representatives, ETC partners, and emergency responders learned about the improved GECS-MOVE set, which features modern telecommunications equipment with expanded network capacity to support up to 3,000 responders and communities.
• WFP joined the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation in the ceremonial turnover of emergency equipment in Eastern Samar under Project REACHED. 4 The project aims to equip select local governments with tools and training to i) enhance emergency communications and ii) help coordinate response and recovery operations. WFP contributed to the project’s technical design, ensuring its effective integration into the GECS-MOVE system during emergencies