Consistent with the Eastern Visayas Regional Development Plan (EV-RDP) 2023-2028’s commitment to boost health and nutrition in the region, as well as the region’s commitment to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Regional Development Council (RDC) VIII endorsed the Philippine Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Project (PMNP) through RDC VIII Resolution 71, s2021, to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) – Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-CC). The NEDA-ICC-CC approved the PMNP for funding through the Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) on 22 November 2021. The PMNP was officially launched on 29 March 2023 at the national level.
The PMNP will enable the Philippines to adopt a bold, multi-sectoral, multi-component, and multi-year nutrition approach to deliver a coordinated package of nutrition specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions across various LGU platforms together with a harmonized social behavior change and communication strategy. The PMNP will focus on municipalities with a high rate of stunting among children. It covers 235 municipalities across 26 provinces in 12 regions nationwide, which includes 22 municipalities in Leyte, 20 municipalities in Samar, 14 municipalities in Eastern Samar, and 14 municipalities in Northern Samar.
The PMNP can ensure that stunting in the region can be decreased to less than 6.8 percent by 2028, thus meeting the EV-RDP target, and be eliminated by 2030, thus meeting the SDGs 2030, and ensuring the attainment of AmBisyon 2040 of matatag, maginhawa at panatag na buhay para sa lahat.
The delivery of the nutrition package, as well as its coordination, in the municipalities will be funded by the national government, through the ODA, with counterpart funding from local government units (LGUs). With the fiscal year (FY) 2023 national tax allotment (NTA) of LGUs expected to be lower, because of lower national income during the COVID-19 pandemic years, the LGUs are faced with the challenge of sourcing funds for their financial, as well as in-kind, counterpart to implement the PMNP.
Two municipalities in the region, one in Leyte and one in Samar, expressed their concern that, with the reduced NTA, they may not be able to source the required financial and in-kind counterpart to implement the PMNP in 2023, which will affect their annual performance which is further the basis for succeeding years’ annual allocation for the project.
The Department of Health issued Department Memorandum (DM) No. 2023-0061, entitled “Selection Criteria and Process for Areas Replacement under the PMNP”, in anticipation of identified LGUs that may not be able to continue with their engagement in the project. In the said DM, the replacement municipalities, after having met the same criteria as the initial selection process, shall be endorsed by the Regional Development Council (RDC) - Social Development Committee (SDC). Hence, during the Committee meeting on 12 May 2023, the RDC VIII-SDC endorsed the inclusion of the municipalities of Batbatngon, Leyte, and Arteche, Eastern Samar, as replacement areas in the PMNP, maintaining the 70 municipalities for the region.
The main proponents of the PMNP are the National Nutrition Council (NNC), Department of Health (DOH), and Department of Social Welfare and Development through the KALAHI-CIDDS, with partners from the Inter-Agency Taskforce on Zero Hunger (IATF-ZH), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Agriculture (DA), and Department of Science and Technology - Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI).
