The United States government, through its US Agency for International Development (USAID), recently launched four new development solution projects in the country on Friday to help boost livelihood activities in communities.
USAID Philippines Deputy Mission Director Patrick Wesner launched the projects with key government, civil society, private sector, and academia partners at a virtual event.
“As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of US – Philippines diplomatic relations, we look forward to furthering our productive collaboration with Philippine civil society organizations as we continue to pursue inclusive and resilient growth for Filipinos,” Wesner said.
The four projects which seek to empower local Filipino groups to try new, unique approaches to address development challenges in their communities, are as follows:
– “Coalescing Organizations towards Locally Led Actions to Boost Development” project, which will employ data and evidence to advance development in 10 sites located in Sorsogon, Leyte, Eastern Samar, Misamis Oriental, and Sultan Kudarat over a period of two and a half years;
– A two-year “Facilitating Local Access to Water” project to run from 2021 to 2023 to help local partners in Tublay, Benguet achieve reliable access to safe drinking water;
–A two-year “Assets, Agency and Trust” action-research project, which will use consultations and networking activities to mobilize local resources and drive development activities across the country; and
– A three-year “Capacitating Strategic Organizations to Strengthen the Civil Society Organization Sector” project, which will run from 2021 to 2024 to empower civil society organizations to effectively deliver services and sustain development results in Iloilo City and Cagayan de Oro City.
The US Embassy in Manila said the initiatives are in addition to the US-funded Generating Rural Opportunities by Working with Cooperatives program, launched last year to expand rural livelihood opportunities and increase food security as part of Local Works.
Local Works is USAID’s flagship designed to promote locally led development efforts. It utilizes the creativity and resourcefulness of local communities and enables them to drive their own development.