Philippines

The PPAN serves as the framework for nutrition action and collaboration. The plan is coupled with a results framework that indicates the commitments, outputs and indicators to be implemented and monitored. At the subnational level, local government units utilized available tools to draft and implement Local Nutrition Action Plans that are aligned with the PPAN. Workshops for this purpose were conducted virtually due to the pandemic. The NNC strongly advocated for the inclusion of nutrition programmes in the devolution transition plans of the local government units. Enabling policies for the alignment of country priorities were also issued.

The Philippines continues to build the capacity of local nutrition workers and local government units with the devolution of the implementation of basic nutrition services due to the Mandanas-Garcia ruling. Following this, several webinars targeting local chief executives were conducted to advocate for increased investment in nutrition and the establishment of nutrition offices. Policy support for this purpose is being developed. The Philippines also led the country and regional launch of the third phase of the SUN Movement Strategy, which was well attended by various members of the regions’ MSP.

The NNC coordinates its member agencies to ensure that the MSP is holistic and inclusive. The MSP includes all nutrition stakeholders and coordination systems that impact nutrition outcomes. Beyond the usual four SUN networks, it includes humanitarian actors and finance partners, among others. This enabled the highly effective emergency response to address the devastation of Typhoon Rai. The MSP is also reflected at the subnational level through Local Nutrition Committees. Regional SUN networks have been established in some regions. Technical working groups for PPAN are also in place to jointly plan, monitor and evaluate its interventions. The development of a new PPAN cycle is under way.