WFP Philippines In Numbers

Country Brief
1,600 people assisted in May 2023
May 2023
32 mt of iron-fortified rice distributed

US$ 2.3 m six months (June-October 2023) net

funding requirements

49% 51%

Food Assistance for Assets beneficiaries in the Province of Maguindanao

received 50-kg. of iron-fortified rice in exchange for their productive work. Operational Updates
©WFP/Dale Rivera
Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim
Operational Context Mindanao (BARMM)
A lower middle-income country, the Philippines has been • WFP reached 800 households with food assistance
one of the most dynamic economies in the East Asia Pacific for assets (FFA) activities in the province of
region but has struggled to transpose economic growth into Maguindanao benefitting 4,000 people. FFA
tangible human development gains. Poverty incidence is at participants worked on the rehabilitation of farm-
18.1 percent (2021), which translates into 20 million to-market roads, vegetable production, and the
Filipinos who live below the poverty threshold. Stunting construction and clearing of irrigation canals. Each
prevalence is high at 26.7 percent. Natural hazards and participant received 50 kg of iron-fortified rice in
man-made conflicts contribute to food insecurity and exchange for their productive work.
malnutrition, which are now exacerbated by the impact of • As part of implementing FFA activities in 26 target
COVID-19, as well as the global food and energy crisis. The municipalities in BARMM, WFP conducted
Philippines ranks 1st in Natural Hazards & Exposure risk Community-Based Participatory Planning (CBPP)
according to the 2022 Inform Risk Index. in three municipalities of Maguindanao and five
municipalities in the province of Lanao del Sur to
WFP’s Country Strategic Plan focuses on supporting the determine the most suitable projects in the
Government in achieving food security, reducing community, considering the specific livelihood
malnutrition, preparing for disasters and climate change landscapes, shocks and stressors, vulnerabilities,
impact, and improving access to income-generating priority needs, and interests of communities.
activities for the rural poor, conflict affected population and
other vulnerable groups – in line with the United Nations Social Protection
Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger. Specifically, • WFP joined the Department of Social Welfare and
WFP works on a humanitarian-development-peace nexus Development in a workshop to develop the
approach in the Bangsamoro Region during its transition programme design of Walang Gutom (No Hunger)
period. 2027—food stamp programme of the
Government. The programme aims to help reduce
hunger, malnutrition, and poverty by supporting
access of food-insecure families to affordable,
healthy and diverse food sources. Pilot
implementation will be conducted in five areas
across the country, targeting 3,000 to 6,000
beneficiaries over 6 months.
Nutrition
• WFP sensitized 450 beneficiaries participating in the
FFA activities in Maguindanao with social and
behaviour change communication (SBCC)
messages through the Nutrishow. WFP developed
2022 Human Development Index the Nutrishow to reinforce key messages on dietary
Population: 110 million
Ranking: 116 out of 191 diversity and provide corrective feedback (e.g.
benefits of exclusive breastfeeding) during the
Childhood stunting: 27% Income Level: Lower middle community-wide activity. It is a 30-minute
(National Nutrition Survey, 2021)
informative activity game conducted before rice
distributions.
Contact info: [email protected]
Country Director: Brenda Barton
Further information: www.wfp.org/countries/Philippines
 Nutrition (continued)

WFP Country Strategy • WFP, together with National Nutrition Council (NNC)
and UNICEF co-organized the Philippine Plan of
Action for Nutrition (PPAN) 2023-2028 Online
Country Strategic Plan (2018-2023) Public Consultation with over 2,000 government
staff from the Department of Interior and Local
Total Requirement Allocated Six Month Net Funding Government (DILG) and the DSWD. The
(in USD) Contributions (in USD) Requirements (in USD)
consultation aims to gather insights from various
115.9 m 68.2 m 4.1 m stakeholders to ensure that the PPAN fully aligns
with the Government’s priorities to end
malnutrition.
Strategic Result 1: Everyone has access to food

Strategic Outcome 1: Crisis-affected people in the Philippines are able to • WFP Philippines and WFP India organized a virtual
meet their food and nutrition needs during and immediately after an knowledge exchange session on central kitchen
emergency. attended by representatives from the DSWD, NNC,
Focus area: Crisis response Department of Education, and the private sector.
Activities: Participants shared good practices and benefits of
• Provide unconditional food and nutrition assistance through the adopting central kitchen models in school feeding
governments’ safety net or partners to crisis-affected programmes.
communities following natural disasters or human-induced
shocks and disruptions Disaster Preparedness
Strategic Result 2: End malnutrition
• WFP supported the DSWD in conducting an
Strategic Outcome 2: Women, boys, and girls in provinces prioritized by orientation and consultation workshop on DSWD’s
the Government have adequate and healthy diets to reduce malnutrition Relief Goods Information Management System
in line with government targets by 2022.
(RGIMS) with its Field Offices in Visayas and
Focus area: Root Cause
Mindanao Regions. The feedback and
Activities: recommendations gathered from the regional
• Provide direct and technical assistance to boys, girls, women and warehouse managers on RGIMS will inform the
care providers as well as technical assistance to government,
enhancement of the system, supported by WFP’s
build evidence and advocate to ensure nutrition specific and
sensitive multiple sectorial responses lead to adequate and multi-year emergency and preparedness response
healthy diets during the critical times of development. project in the Philippines.

Strategic Result 5: Capacity Strengthening

• WFP and the BARMM Cash Working Group
Strategic Outcome 3: Vulnerable communities in Mindanao have conducted a Pre-Crisis Market Assessment with
improved food security, in support of government targets by 2022. representatives from the local government, other
Focus area: Resilience UN agencies, and partners. The team analysed the
Activities: findings on the availability of basic commodities
• Support the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and market chains in flood-prone areas in BARMM
and local governments to address the Food Security and and developed market maps to identify and access
Nutrition (FSN) needs of all segments of the population (activity
vulnerable markets in the region.
category: 9, modality: CS/food/cash) to further consolidate and
enhance existing peace and development plans
Emergency Telecommunications
Strategic Result 5: Capacity Strengthening
• WFP, in its capacity as the lead of the emergency
Strategic Outcome 4: National and Local Government have enhanced telecommunications (ETC) cluster, joined as a
capabilities to reduce vulnerabilities to shocks by 2022. keynote panelist at the 2023 Emergency
Focus area: Resilience
Telecommunications Summit. The conference
Activities: delved deeper on the state of ETC in the Philippines
• Support national and local capacities for disaster risk reduction as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate
and management as well as climate change adaptation
shocks.
• Strengthen and augment government and partners’ emergency
preparedness and response capacity to include supply chain and
• WFP hosted the Department of Information and
ICT
Communications Technology in a field visit to the
WFP Warehouse in Mabalacat, Pampanga to learn
Donors more about WFP’s ETC field operation and witness
the ongoing customization of the three new Mobile
Asian Development Bank (ADB), Australia, Brazil, Canada, European Civil Operations Vehicles for Emergency (MOVE) units.
Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), France, Germany,
Ireland, Japan, Japan Association for WFP, the Philippines, Private Sector, Monitoring
Republic of Korea, United States of America (USAID), United Nations
Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). • According to the latest 2023 Inflation Report of the
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), headline
inflation slightly slowed down further to 6.1 percent
in May from 6.6 percent in April. Lower inflation
WFP Philippines Country Brief rate on food and non-alcoholic beverages,
May 2023 transportation, and utilities contributed to the
downtrend in the overall inflation rate.