THE Australian government has expressed support for the “Social Protection, Inclusion and Gender Equality (SPRING)” program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which aims to provide equal opportunities to all Filipinos, among others.
Australian Ambassador Hae Kyong Yu, together with members of the Australian Embassy – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), met with DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian about the SPRING program last Tuesday on how they intend to support the five-year program.
Details of the program are unavailable at the moment, but DSWD said the program aims for social and economic transformation in the Philippines, provides equal opportunities to all Filipinos in line with the Philippine Development Plan, and improves systems and structures that reduce poverty and inequality and advance gender equality and the rights of people with disabilities.
The DSWD and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Philippines also signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last Tuesday which aims to strengthen collaboration in empowering young girls and adult women, especially those from the most vulnerable populations.
The MOU focuses on five areas, namely, generating data to inform programming, strengthening the DSWD’s role in emergencies, supporting the implementation of programs related to gender-based violence (GBV), enhancing service-delivery systems and referral pathways for GBV survivors, and addressing discriminatory gender norms or practices through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
UNFPA Philippines Country Representative Leila Joudane welcomed their agency’s partnership with the DSWD which she said would enable them to “reach the most vulnerable and provide critical support and services in the fight against gender-based violence and harmful gender norms,” while Gatchalian said the DSWD-UNFPA partnership would strengthen the current system to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in the Philippines.
