Lanao del Norte — The Department of Social Welfare and Development has been intensifying its efforts in advocating programs and services at the grassroots level.

Recently,  Ms. Morena Fernandez of DSWD lobbied and advocated the Family Drug Abuse Prevention Programme (FDAPP) and the Comprehensive Intervention Against Gender-Based Violence (CIAGV) to the local officials of Sapad, this province.

The Family Drug Abuse Prevention Program (FDAPP) is a community-based prevention program designed to educate and prepare families about the adverse effects of drug abuse.

In Northern Mindanao, thirteen municipalities and 2 cities have forged a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department in support of the implementation of the said program.

The Comprehensive Intervention Against Gender Based Violence (CIAGV) Program,  on the other hand, envisions a community where women and girls will be less vulnerable to Gender-Based Violence through increased access to to quality response and reintegration services and participation in preventive actions.

To date, nine local government units have entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the DSWD to help prevent and combat violence in their respective localities.

For the year 2016, activities have been planned out to intensify the advocacy of the two community based programs particularly in the provinces of Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental.

Written by Mitzie S. Santiago, DSWD