More foreign aid flows for typhoon survivors
DIPLOMATIC missions continue to send support for displaced Filipinos a month after Typhoon Odette slammed into Central and Southern Philippines.
Canada released on January 13 details of a P120-million humanitarian assistance for those affected by the howler (international name Rai), following a December 21 statement of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on their commitment to provide immediate support to relief operations in the Philippines.
Its embassy in Manila announced the details of the Can$3million in humanitarian assistance (approximately P120 million) to international nongovernmental organizations with the following allocations:
n CAN$1.8 million (P72 million) to the World Food Programme (WFP) to support emergency-food assistance and logistics-operations response, in line with requirements identified in the United Nations’ (UN) Humanitarian Needs and Priorities plan. The allocation seeks to help 530,000 people through the provision of nonperishable nutritious food, emergency cashfor-work in semi-urban and rural areas, multipurpose cash transfers for immediate food needs and support livelihood, as well as the facilitation of transport and emergency logistics-response equipment.
n CAN$700,000 (P28 million) to Oxfam Canada and Plan International Canada, in providing multipurpose cash assistance to support basic food and shelter needs, daily potable water—including storage and treatment solutions, distribution of menstrual health and hygiene kits, as well as facilitating access to protection services. The aid aims to meet the needs of about 30,250 people in Surigao del Norte and Southern Leyte— two provinces hardest hit by the typhoon—in six months.
n CAN$500,000 (P20 million) to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) via the Canadian Red Cross Society to support the former’s emergency appeal to boost Philippine Red Cross (PRC) activities that help address emergency health; shelter; as well as water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) needs of the most vulnerable. The assistance aims to meet the immediate needs of 81,000 of the most vulnerable affected households— including women/child-headed households; pregnant or lactating women; families with persons with disability, elderly, those suffering from chronic illnesses, those with children under five years old, those who have not received any or sufficient assistance from the government or other organizations, those who belong to socially vulnerable families, and those who lack resources to meet basic humanitarian needs on their own.
“Canada is deeply concerned by the aftermath of this climate change-induced catastrophe,” Ambassador Peter Macarthur said. “We continue to monitor the situation closely, and are pleased to be working with the government of the Philippines, Canadian and international humanitarian partners in reaching out to those most affected by ‘Odette.’”
Macarthur explained: “Our partners are trusted humanitarian organizations with networks and track records to ensure…help is given to those who need it the most. The Red Cross, Oxfam, Plan International, and the WFP are well-positioned to deliver support, have existing representations onthe-ground, and strong [ties] with local authorities, other civil-society organizations, and affected communities.”
He added: “We are also pleased to hear about the UN’S rapid Us$12million response allocation from its Central Emergency Response Fund…canada has been a leading contributor to the UN’S CERF, following a Can$88-million, 3-year recommitment made in December 2020.”
Through the embassy’s Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, the North American country has made a quick-response funding of an additional CAN$50,000 (around P2 million) to support local-relief efforts in the Caraga region, which was particularly hit hard by the storm.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines has also asked its members to donate to relief and recovery efforts led by the private sector.
“Canada stands in solidarity with the people and government of the Philippines alongside the international community led by the UN and civil-society humanitarian organizations in collective relief and early recovery work,” the ambassador said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this devastating natural calamity.”
“Because of the magnitude of this ongoing crisis, efforts will need to be sustained over the coming weeks and months to help people with their shelter, food, water and livelihoods,” Macarthur further stated. “So we stand ready to work with our partners to extend other assistance that may be needed.”
Japan provides support
ON January 14 the government of Japan decided to provide an emergency-grant aid of $3 million (approximately P663 million) in response to “Odette’s” damages:”
The aid, provided through multiple international organizations, will allow for the implementation of humanitarian-assistance activities in areas such as food, shelter, nonfood items, health, as well as water and sanitation, for the survivors.
Japan, in light of its amicable relations with the Philippines as articulated by its embassy, intends to closely coordinate with the country for the earliest recovery of the affected areas.
The following are the implementing agencies, areas of assistance, and the disbursement amount:
n WFP: Food, nutrition and logistics ($5 million)
n International Organization for Migration: Shelter, health, camp coordination and camp management ($4.2 million)
n IFRC and Red Crescent Societies: Shelter/nonfood items, food, WASH and health ($1.83 million)
n UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): WASH ($1.6 million)
n UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): Interagency coordination ($.2 million)
n Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR: Shelter/nonfood items, and protection ($.17 million)
US assists
THE United States government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), allocated late in December 2021 an additional P950 million ($19 million) in humanitarian assistance to help communities affected by “Odette,” which brought the total support from the said country for this specific response to more than P1 billion ($20.2 million).
With this grant, USAID will provide food aid and WASH programs to help keep people healthy, as well as shelter assistance to meet emergency needs and help affected communities start rebuilding their homes.
“The US is pleased to announce an additional and significant assistance of P950 million, which brings our total amount of aid for…‘odette’ to over P1 billion,” confirmed Chargé d’affaires a.i. Heather Variava. “We stand steadfast with our long-standing friend, partner and ally in helping support communities devastated by the typhoon. This additional assistance will help deliver food and hygiene supplies, as well as provide life-saving support to those most in need.”
Said new funding was on top of the P50 million ($1 million) earlier announced to support emergency-logistics efforts to ensure aid is delivered to those in geographically isolated areas. It also builds on the P10 million ($200,000) that USAID provided immediately after the storm for food, water and hygiene supplies; to restore water-supply services and sanitation facilities; as well as support hygiene-promotion activities.
According to the US embassy, USAID works year-round to help local communities prepare for natural disasters. Through existing programs, USAID’S partners are transporting relief supplies— including enough food provided by the Philippine government to feed nearly 103,000 families. USAID partners are also helping manage evacuation shelters, deploy mobile-operations vehicles to support emergency telecommunications, and provide heavy-duty plastic sheeting to meet the shelter needs of 4,800 families.
The United States, its embassy said, will continue to partner with the Philippines in responding to natural disasters and support Filipinos in their recovery efforts. Since 2010 the aid agency has provided more than P17 billion (or $340 million) in disaster-relief and recovery aid, while boosting the disaster-risk reduction capacity of over 100 cities and municipalities in the Philippines.
Sokor sent rice, hygiene kits
THE South Korean government turned over P2.5 million worth of rice and hygiene kits as immediate relief to the communities affected by Typhoon Odette.
The donation, delivered to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), has 1,500 sacks of rice and 740 hygiene kits, all of which were sourced locally.
Ambassador Kim In-chul noted that the initial aid was an addition to an upcoming $2-million (approximately P100-million) humanitarian assistance to further help the recovery of typhoon survivors.
The Korean embassy is currently working with different partners in the Philippines to evaluate where the additional contribution should be best allocated.
“With my short experience here in the Philippines in the past, we [contributed] a few hundreds of US dollars following Typhoon ‘Rolly’... the destination of that cash assistance was the PRC and with that, they built close to 200 permanent housing for the displaced people in Albay,” Kim told the Philippine News Agency. “So it will depend on what we will find here. We are contacting different departments and international organizations to see where they feel the need [and] the urgency, because relief has to go along with recovery.”
Along with emergency-relief packs, Kim stressed that housing, power and telecommunication have to come back altogether to allow the affected population to return to their daily lives.
“It’s a comprehensive thing, so it will require a[ whole-o f-international-community and Philippine government approach ],” he said.
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Myca Magnolia Fischer, meanwhile, thanked the Korean government for its support, especially as the government ramps up its relief operations in the Visayas and Mindanao: “We’re thankful for the solidarity and sympathy of the Republic of Korea. Always a steady partner of the Philippines, especially during this difficult time, we can really rely on it for support.”
Social Welfare Director Emmanuel Privado said the latest Korean rice donation will be able to feed about 6,000 families.
As of December 28, 2021 the DSWD has so far delivered more than 120,000 family food packs to the 11 regions hit by “Odette,” with at least three trucks carrying 1,700 boxes each.