WB funds study to assess needs of Mindanao

If peace and development efforts were to be sustained in Mindanao, there would be a need for solutions that the poor and conflict-affected communities have themselves identified and proposed through direct consultations.

This will be the subject of a study commissioned and funded by the World Bank known as the Social Assessment Project (SAP) which will be conducted in selected poverty-stricken and conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.

"We want to know exactly what the Mindanaoans feel, what they really need, and what they perceive are the best solutions to bring about sustained peace and development in their respective communities," said Nat J. Colletta, who used to head the Post Conflict Unit of the World Bank in Washington, USA.

"The assessment will be carried out by several teams which will be deployed in selected areas in Mindanao. The teams will conduct surveys and interviews of families, residents and key leaders – including Muslims, Christians and indigenous people – in poverty-stricken and conflict-affected areas," Colletta added.

The results of the SAP will then serve as imputs in the formulation of a framework plan, called the Peace and Reconstruction Imperatives for Mindanao’s Enhanced Development (PRIMED).

Colletta said the SAP field surveys and data analysis will be undertaken by two non-governmental organizations – MinPhil, Inc. and Mindanao Land, Inc. The project also includes an advocacy component, which will be handled by Friend, Inc., a public policy NGO based in Los Baños, Laguna and Davao City.

Initially, the SAP will cover communities that are directly affected by armed conflicts, areas that are indirectly affected, and those that have a high potential for armed conflict.

"We want to establish institutional mechanisms at the community level, where the affected families can actively participate in their chosen poverty alleviation and socio-economic development projects, which they believe are relevant and responsive to their needs and thus acceptable to all concerned," Colletta explained.

The community development projects may be a combination of the following irrigation system, a farm or fishery project, provision of farm imputs equipment, credit financing, a farm-to-market road, a bridge or a school house, among others.

Thereafter, the SAP will come up with a community-planned action program of investments and capacity-building activities related to the identified needs and projects. The respondents will also be asked on who they prefer to be their partner – either an NGO, a private sector group or a government agency – in undertaking their respective action plan and projects.

The overall objective of the SAP is to attain sustainable peace and development through reconstruction and institution building of Mindanaoans in a post-conflict setting," said Colletta.