At least three programs of the Quezon City government were cited by the Galing Pook Awards in choosing the local government as a finalist in this year's award.
THE Quezon City Government were chosen as finalists of this year’s Galing Pook Awards, a prestigious award program that promotes innovation and excellence in local governance.
With the theme “GobyerNEW: Magagaling na Programa mula sa Magagaling na Pook”, this year’s Galing Pook Awards focuses on local government units’ “programs that exemplified adaptiveness, innovation, resiliency, and excellence during these difficult times.”
At least three programs of the Quezon City government – the Quezon City Human Milk Bank (QCHMB), Kabahagi Center for Children with Disabilities, and GrowQC: Kasama ka sa Pag-unlad sa Pagkain, Kabuhayan at Kalusugan Food Security Program – were cited by the awards committee.
“We are truly proud of these programs because of how they greatly influence and change the lives of our QCitizens. We are happy because, amid the pandemic, we were able to continue providing social services that went beyond the Covid-19 response,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a press release.
One of the programs selected is the Quezon City Human Milk Bank (QCHMB) that aims to help end preventable deaths among vulnerable newborns by giving them lifesaving mother’s milk.
As of 2020, the QCHMB has helped 5,023 infants survive, not just in Quezon City but also across the country, by making available 979,624ml of pasteurized human milk to them.
QC government said out of the 8,820 mothers who were screened for eligibility to donate, 8,658 mothers passed as breastmilk donors.
The local government also recognized the struggles of children with disabilities through its community-based rehabilitation program known as the Kabahagi Center for Children with Disabilities.
As of June 2021, 1,339 children with disabilities have been profiled by disability focal persons; 1,163 of them availed of the services of the Kabahagi Center; 1,240 therapy services were provided to the children, and the children’s families also received multiple benefits such as livelihood training and educational workshops.
The program adopted several innovations such as telemedicine, telecoaching, and e-skwela to provide unhampered services for children with disabilities and their families during this pandemic.
Another main advocacy of the city government is its multi-sectoral and community-based food security program named GrowQC: Kasama ka sa Pag-unlad sa Pagkain, Kabuhayan at Kalusugan Food Security Program, which was launched during the height of the pandemic last April 2020.
Tags: #localgovernance, #QuezonCity, #GalingPookAwards, #socioeconomicprograms