ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR (Alma Tingcang / 15 Nov) - For 2006, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) entrusted to the provincial government of Zamboanga del Sur the amount of P14.1 million to address vital issues affecting children which is implemented through the following program components: Health and Nutrition, Early Childhood Care and Development, Education, Local Policy and Institutional Development, Communication, Children in Need of Special Protection and HIV/AIDS.
Zamboanga del Sur Gov. Aurora Cerilles, chairperson of the Provincial Council for the Welfare of Children and Women, said the province is fortunate because the program ushered greater headway in upholding the interest of children who are being placed at the heart of the government’s development agenda.
Program implementation of the 6th Country Program for Children (CPC 6) under the auspices of UNICEF runs from 2005-2009 and promotes the Child Friendly Movement in Zamboanga del Sur.
It is geared towards putting the best interest of the child at the core, all efforts and resources of the community mobilized to defend and care for children - the youngest and most vulnerable members of our society.
Cerilles said: “Through the program, we have properly mashaled our efforts and interventions for the reduction of disparities for the major health, nutrition, education and protection indicators in focus areas.”
“Under the framework of the Child Friendly Movement, we have effectively sustained the survival, development, protection and participation rights of children that count vital in establishing child-friendly communities,” Cerilles added.
In her State of the Children Report, the governor proudly said that Infant Mortality Rate as well as Maternal Mortality Rate has greatly decreased. Other indicators prove that the program is gaining headway in terms of implementation.
Dr Marisa Ricardo, UNICEF Focal Officer for Zamboanga del Sur, said the PIR is conducted to evaluate the performance of program beneficiaries and assess its impact in relation to the achievement of program goals and objectives.
“Aside from United States and Australia, there are many countries who signified their intention to help – Saudi Arabia for instance, want to help Mindanao and we have to maximize our efforts to utilize these funds for the benefit of the youngest members of society - our children. We owe it to our donor-countries to deliver what is expected of us, and update them not only how the funds were spent but also how it has improved the situation of children to the grass root level,” Ricardo explained.
The province has shown a remarkable performance, having been a program recipient from CPC 3 to CPC 6 which ends by year 2009. Program implementers have taken the challenge to finish the tasks entrusted to them. So much have to be done but the job is easier when everybody works for one common goal: putting the best interest of the child at the topmost agenda.
1 comment:
UNICEF is the king of kindness
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