Gov’t anti-poverty program gaining ground — NEDA

MANILA, Philippines - The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the government’s anti-poverty program is gaining ground in achieving its desired long-term outcomes of poverty reduction.

In a report, NEDA said the government’s Pantawid Pamilya Program has made notable progress in terms of achieving the development outcomes for its beneficiaries in the short term.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan noted the results of an impact evaluation in 2011, which suggests that households under the program are more likely to perform better, particularly in the areas of education and health, compared to non-beneficiaries.

According to Balisacan, compared to non-Pantawid households, program beneficiaries had higher insurance coverage through Philippine Health Insurance Corp. by 10 percent, while pregnant beneficiaries were more likely to avail themselves of routine healthcare also by 10 percent.

The report also showed that as to children under the Pantawid program, those aged three to five years old and six to 11 years old had higher enrolment rates in daycare (10 percent) and basic education (five percent), respectively, compared to non-Pantawid children.

The report added that those aged six to 11 years old and 12 to 14 years old under the program were more likely to attend regular classes by four percent and five percent, respectively, compared to their non-Pantawid counterparts.

Beneficiaries’ spending patterns also shifted toward investing more in education and health compared to their non-Pantawid counterparts.

The report said Pantawid-recipients are now spending 36 percent more for their children’s education and 33 percent more for basic medical costs.

The government’s Pantawid Pamilya Program provides cash incentives to identified poor households after they comply with certain criteria, such as children’s regular attendance in schools and mother’s regular visit to health clinics for maternal care, among others.

Beneficiaries were rigorously selected through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR)  which determines the socioeconomic category of the households through assessment of assets, type of housing, education of the household head, livelihood, and access to water and sanitation facilities.

Eligible households, those categorized as “poor” by the NHTS-PR, have children zero to 14 years old and/or a pregnant woman at the time of assessment, and agree to meet conditions specified in the program.

“By investing in education and health, future generations from these households would be able to get out of the vicious cycle of poverty that has disabled them from living to their fullest potential, such as getting employed in quality jobs.  The Pantawid Pamilya Program is really a long-term investment, and the immediate progress we have initially seen affirms the program’s success in the coming years,” Balisacan said.

“The Pantawid Pamilya Program is really a long-term investment, and the immediate progress we have initially seen affirms the program’s success in the coming years,” Balisacan added.

The report said that 3.01 million poor households have been covered by the program as of June 2012, exceeding the three million cumulative target by 2012 as set in the Philippine Development Plan for 2011-2016.