UNICEF, in partnership with the Department of Budget and Management and the European Union, announced the launch of a joint Public Finance Facility, which will invest $6 million over three years to support the Philippines and seven other countries in South and Southeast Asia.
In a release, UNICEF further explained that this initiative ensures sustainable, protected, and transparent public spending on children.
“In the longer term, we want to increase the coverage of social protection programs and family-friendly policies for children living in multidimensional poverty, so they can survive and thrive,” said Behzad Noubary, UNICEF Acting Representative to the Philippines.
The program aims to deliver an enhanced Program Convergence Budgeting (PCB) system, the development of policy budget tools, and an increase in the participation of children and adolescents in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative.
The PCB system ensures government resources are coordinated holistically across departments and agencies working towards the same goals.
A budget tagging and tracking tool, meanwhile, will be developed to strengthen sub-national public finance management systems, enabling local governments to better plan, budget, and deliver social services for children.
Lastly, the participation of children and adolescents in the OGP initiative will empower them to contribute to policy and budgeting processes that impact their lives.
“Beyond being a human rights concern, investing in the children of today is also a strategic choice: it means investing in the future of the Philippines,” said Massimo Santoro, Ambassador of the European Union to the Philippines.
He also reiterated the EU’s commitment to support the Philippines in building a resilient, responsive, and inclusive society, especially since the facility will contribute to the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the objectives of the Philippines Development Plan 2023-2028.
Aside from EU and DBM, the program is also in collaboration with the Department of Finance–Bureau of Local Government Finance, the Council for the Welfare of Children, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the National Economic and Development Authority, the Early Childhood and Care and Development Council, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health. Ralph Hernandez
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