MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 10, 2012) – The Canadian government has sent food aid to towns ravaged by recent flash floods in the Philippines.
Through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), emergency food assistance donated by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), has boosted Manila’s emergency relief efforts in flood-affected areas of Central Luzon and conflict-affected areas of Central Mindanao.
“WFP is grateful to CIDA for its steadfast commitment in responding to humanitarian needs in the Philippines when they arise, which has enabled WFP to be an effective partner to the Philippine Government,” WFP Philippines Representative and Country Director Stephen Anderson said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
He said a nutritious ready-to-use supplementary food product is currently being distributed to flood and conflict-affected children aged 6 to 36 months and that beneficiary identification and distribution is being done in close partnership with the Department of Health and local governments.
“Canada has a long record of providing assistance to those who are most in need,” said Canadian Ambassador Christopher Thornely. “Canada’s long standing partnership with the WFP has served to help many people around the world, including with the delivery of rapid and effective humanitarian assistance in the Philippines.”
For Central Luzon, in the wake of massive flooding caused by the Southwest monsoon in early August, over 33 metric tons of supplementary food have already been distributed to about 26,000 flood-affected children from the National Capital Region, Region 3, and Region 4-A.
A total of 60 tons, enough for more than 92,000 children for two weeks, will be provided, a WFP statement said.
In Central Mindanao, where tens of thousands of people were displaced in August following a series of armed clashes, almost 2.7 metric tons of the nutritious ready-to-use supplementary food has been provided to over 2,000 children, complementing the local and regional government’s emergency relief assistance for the displaced, it said.
Specialised nutritious foods are an effective form of relief assistance for young children, who are more vulnerable to malnutrition, particularly in the early stages of a crisis when the quality and quantity of food available is often inadequate.
The Canadian Government has been one of the top donors to WFP globally, becoming the second largest donor to the organization in 2011. In the Philippines, CIDA contributions have supported WFP nutrition and livelihood support programmes in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao, as well as emergency relief programmes following Tropical Storm Washi.
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