The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has affirmed its commitment to delivering sustainable interventions against involuntary hunger through the Walang Gutom Program (WGP).
The WGP is the flagship program of the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. against involuntary hunger wherein food-poor families receive PHP3,000 monthly in food credits provided by the DSWD.
“The WGP is the commitment of the Department to really address the issues of poverty and hunger by providing the immediate response but at the same time, a long-term solution,” Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said in a radio interview on Monday.
The DSWD spokesperson said the department works closely with partner agencies to strengthen the long-term impact of the WGP by helping the beneficiaries become part of the economy through a whole-of-government approach.
This includes collaboration with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to facilitate the participation of household members in job fairs; and with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to provide access to relevant skills training and short-term courses.
“Our beneficiaries attend productivity enhancement sessions so they would be capacitated and eventually they’d be able to secure gainful jobs,” Dumlao said.
Another key feature of the WGP is the nutrition education component which promotes behavioral change by fostering healthy food practices among participants.
The activities in the monthly nutrition education sessions include classifying food into “go, grow, and glow” categories and developing affordable menus for families.
“Dito tinuturuan ‘yung ating mga (Here, we teach our) WGP beneficiaries on how to prepare mura, masustansya at masasarap na pagkain sa kanila pong mga pamilya (cheap, nutritious and delicious meals for their families),” she said.
For 2025, the DSWD will scale up the program to reach an additional 300,000 households, bringing the total to 600,000 beneficiaries. The agency aims to expand to 750,000 families by 2027. (PNA)
