Excellencies and distinguished delegates,

Good morning from the Philippines.

We would like to thank the co-chairs, Ambassador Mohammad Koba of Indonesia and Ambassador Andrejs Pildegovičs of Latvia for this opportunity to share Philippine efforts to end poverty and hunger, enhance human well-being and build resilience with the use of STI. The full year poverty incidence of the Philippines in 2018 was 16.7% which translates to 17.7 million Filipinos living in poverty. The pandemic has further aggravated current challenges such as high unemployment and poverty rate.

The Philippines has devised ways to utilize STI to provide solutions related to hunger, poverty, and livelihood.

The Department of Science and Technology implements the “Community Empowerment Thru Science and Technology (CEST) Program that empowers the poorest and most depressed communities in the country, via S&T interventions in health and nutrition, water and sanitation, basic education and literacy, livelihood enterprise development, and disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

In consideration of the rapid emergence of Industry 4.0 and transformations in local and global market, the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program or SETUP 4.0 was initiated to categorize SMEs and deliver the appropriate S&T assistance to them.

The Task Force on Zero Hunger includes S&T solutions that address health and nutrient gaps, and regional deployment of technologies. One of these solutions is the “Enhanced Nutribun”, a bread made from squash that is rich in vitamin A and iron, and are distributed during community quarantine feeding programs and other emergencies. Another is the “Pack of Hope: Ready-to-eat meals” that provide complete meal in every pack for victims of natural disasters. The Philippine Government also implements the Malnutrition Reduction Program, which benefits children ages 6 months to below 3 years old, through direct feeding of rice-mongo based complementary foods, as well as nutrition education interventions for mothers and caregivers in the countryside.

For resilience, the Philippines employs Georisk that provides protocols and platforms to inform people, communities, local governments, and national agencies of hazards, exposure and risk information to help avert and mitigate risks from natural hazards.

Ladies and gentlemen, indeed, STI significantly contributes to achieving the SDGs especially in addressing the challenges on hunger, poverty, and well-being. This is Science for the People.

Thank you.

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