DSWD’s poverty alleviation program completes 7,531 community projects

From the Department of Social Welfare and Development

DSWD’s program, the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) has completed some 7,531 community projects from 2011 to April 15, 2015.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) continues to involve communities in their own development through the Community-Driven Development (CDD) strategy employed by the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS), one of the Department’s anti-poverty programs.

CDD is an approach that engages citizens in local development so that they will determine and implement what interventions that will help their communities respond to issues affecting their poverty situation.

These interventions include the construction of community projects such as farm-to-market roads, footbridges, day care centers, solar dryers, school buildings, health centers, water systems, and small irrigation systems, among others.

From 2011 to April 15, 2015, some 7,531 community projects have been completed through the various modalities under Kalahi-CIDSS, which include:

Kalahi-CIDSS Additional Financing, which expanded the first phase of Kalahi-CIDSS, covering 176 municipalities in three years.

Under this project, a total of 2,329 community projects have been completed, benefiting 595,582 households. The project ended in May 2014.

Kalahi-CIDSS Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Project, funded through a $120 million grant from MCC. With the funding, Kalahi-CIDSS was able to expand its reach to additional municipalities in Luzon and Visayas.

Australian Grant project from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), which aims to improve access of targeted poor communities to early childhood learning and development activities by supporting the construction or rehabilitation of day care centers and classrooms in areas which have Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program partner-beneficiaries.

DFAT provided two grants to Kalahi-CIDSS. The first, amounting to P405 million, which ended last May 2014, was used for the construction of 626 classrooms. This was immediately followed by the second grant, which amounted to P487 million, which was used to support the construction of 468 classrooms and daycare centers.

Japan Social Development Fund-Livelihood for Vulnerable Urban Communities (JSDF-LVUC) Project, which aims to improve the employment and livelihood opportunities of 3,750 households in 75 targeted urban poor communities in and around Metro Manila and adjacent provinces.

This project funded three types of community projects: livelihood and enterprise development, training for employment and small infrastructure, and cash-for-work.

Kalahi-CIDSS-Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan, a project in partnership with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP), aims to improve access to quality basic social services and responsive, transparent and accountable local government in conflict-affected barangays (CABs).
From its first implementation in 2011, PAMANA has constructed 2,782 community projects.

Kalahi-CIDSS Bottom-up Planning and Budgeting is a process which has the component of the government’s anti-poverty strategy. It is an approach to make planning and budgeting in local and national governments more participatory through the involvement of grassroots organizations and communities.

As of April 2015, a total of 234 community projects have been completed.

Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) aims to alleviate the plight of the poor by rebuilding the infrastructure and sources of livelihood, providing access to emergency support and early recovery systems and ensuring resilience during future disasters.

A total of 399 barangays in 13 municipalities in the province of Samar, Eastern Samar, and Leyte are covered by the JFPR Project.

Around 1.8 million households are now reaping the benefits of the community projects implemented through Kalahi-CIDSS.

“It is interesting to note that the program has tremendously altered the perspective of our beneficiaries. Before, people in the communities are only aiming on how to survive daily. Now, they are contributing and involving themselves in the improvement of their communities,” said Sec. Soliman.

National Community-Driven Development Program

Last year, DSWD expanded Kalahi-CIDSS into a national scale with the implementation of the KALAHI-CIDSS National Community-Driven Development Program (KALAHI CIDSS-NCDDP).

It aims to empower communities in targeted poor and disaster-affected municipalities to achieve improved access to services and to participate in more inclusive local planning, budgeting, implementation, and disaster risk reduction and management.

As of April 2015, a total of 668 municipalities with 16,091 barangays located in 57 provinces across 14 regions are already covered under the program.

The total allocation for the expanded Kalahi-CIDSS is P43.9 billion, sourced from World Bank and Asian Development Bank loan assistance, and national government funding.

It will be implemented from 2014 until 2019, covering a total of 19,647 barangays in 847 municipalities located in 58 provinces and 14 regions to benefit 5.3 million households.

dswd.gov.ph