The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Thursday signed a memorandum of agreement with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) aimed at strengthening the government’s capacity to deliver effective social protection during emergencies and disasters.

In a press release Friday, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the MOU is an innovation that would provide social protection assistance fit for its intended beneficiaries.

“We know that every single vulnerable sector has distinct needs, especially in disaster response so this is something that is innovative, that is new. It is a template that we can also adopt, cascade, and expand, and we look forward to learning from it because it is new,” Gatchalian said.

For her part, UNICEF Country Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov affirmed the partnership would provide “life-saving assistance to children and their families in times of emergencies.”

The signed MOU will serve as a basis for both parties to implement a Standby Agreement on Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) that will ensure that disaster-affected families or households and their children will have access to financial aid.

The ECT is an adaptive strategy for bridging the gaps between immediate disaster relief, humanitarian response, and early recovery support through outright cash aid for disaster-affected families in areas under a state of calamity.

The signing was witnessed by DSWD Undersecretary for Disaster Response Management Group Diana Rose Cajipe, Assistant Secretary for Partnerships Building and Resource Mobilization Ana Marie Rafael, and UNICEF Philippines Deputy Representative for Programmes Behzad Noubary. (PNA)