The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will head the Philippine delegation at the inaugural Global Ministerial Conference (GMC) on Ending Violence Against Children (VAC) in Bogotá, Colombia, taking place from 7 to 8 November.

DSWD Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, Attached and Supervised Agencies (IAASA) Elaine Fallarcuna said the global conference is an opportunity for participating member states to concretely accelerate action to end VAC and to pledge new commitments on preventing and ending VAC.

“The DSWD is honored to attend the Global Ministerial Conference on Ending VAC. In this event, we will express the Philippines’ commitment to strengthening child protection systems through a whole-of-nation and whole-of-society approach to fight and respond to all cases of child abuse and exploitation,” Fallarcuna said, who is also the head of the Philippine delegation.

“This can be achieved by ensuring that government policies, programs, and services are responsive to the needs of our children. However, the government has limited resources, hence, collaboration and support from partners from other development institutions, non-government organizations, the academe and other stakeholders are necessary to firm up our efforts to end VAC,” Fallarcuna said.

She will be joined by Department of Health Undersecretary Glenn Matthew Baggao and Director Anna Marie Celina Garfin; Department of Justice Assistant City Prosecutor Jasmin Guiuo-Diaz; Department of Education Director Suzette Gannaban-Medina; DSWD IAASA Director Mary Grace Alboladura; Child Protection Network, Inc. Executive Director Bernadette Madrid; Valenzuela City Social Welfare and Development Office Head Dorothy Evangelista; United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) the Philippines Child Protection Officer Faye Alma Balanon; and Child Rights Coalition Asia Regional Executive Director Amihan Abueva.

The members of the Philippine delegation will serve as panelists at the high-level panel discussions and side events of the conference on the topic of Strengthening Child Protection Systems.

The GMC on Ending VAC is organized by the Government of Colombia in collaboration with the Government of Sweden, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children.