Japan announces new P275-M funding for WPS agenda in BARMM

WPS AGENDA. United Nations Population Fund country representative Leila Joudane (left, seated) and Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya sign the exchange of notes on the project for the protection and empowerment of women in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on Tuesday (Oct. 29, 2024). The Japanese government has allocated JPY724 million (approximately PHP275 million) for the project. (PNA photo by Avito Dalan)

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The Japanese government is funding a JPY724-million (approximately PHP275 million) project that will help address women’s health needs and gender-based violence in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

In signing the exchange of notes on the project on Tuesday, Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya said the initiative signals Tokyo’s continuing support to the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda in the region.

“Our human security cooperation with the Philippines in BARMM provides a strategic opportunity for seeking gender-sensitive solutions, especially in the conflict affected areas,” he said in a side event at the 2024 International Conference on Women, Peace, and Security in Pasay City.

“Leveraging Japan’s expertise and resources, we hope to reinforce BARMM’s nutrition and health structures and increase women’s resilience to social economic and disaster risks,” he added.

The program will be implemented by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and will run for three years to benefit more than 30 percent of the households in all eight municipalities of the Special Geographic Areas in Bangsamoro.

The initiative will also cover two other neighboring municipalities in the Maguindanao del Sur.

UNFPA country representative Leila Joudane said this project will establish 10 new safe spaces that will serve as sanctuaries or safe havens for girls and women, especially victims of gender-based violence.

Further, it will improve access to sexual and reproductive health services through capacity building and provision of two “women’s health on wheels”.

These mobile birthing facilities will provide maternal and reproductive health care for women in remote areas, where there is a lack of emergency services.

“At UNFPA, we firmly believe that empowering women is essential for sustainable development and peace. Women are not just beneficiaries; they are dynamic agents of change, vital for driving progress, peace and stability in their communities,” she said.

“Our initiatives in BARMM aim to uplift women who have faced marginalization and violence, equipping them with the tools they need to become leaders in their own right, and to foster stability within their communities,” she added.

The Japanese Embassy said this new initiative complement the Bangsamoro Regional Action Plan on WPS 2023-2028 Program as well as the 10-year Philippine National Action Plan on WPS 2023-2033.

“Our embassy has funded a lot of projects in Mindanao, but this project is very special because this project is especially targeting the promotion of WPS agenda,” Embassy First Secretary Ishizaka Asuka said in an ambush interview.

“This project is very well designed to align with those two regional and national action plans on WPS — that is a very special point, we think, and very innovative project,” she added.

In the same event, the Japan International Cooperation Agency unveiled another project focused on improving services in maternal and child health in the Bangsamoro.

The project will strengthen community health services and promote PhilHealth enrollment facility-based deliveries in partnership with the BARMM Ministry of Health and local counterparts.