MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 14, 2014) – Almost one hundred days since Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) devastated the Visayas region of central Philippines, senior representatives of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement met recently in Manila to discuss future support to victims of the typhoon.
“The conference gives us the chance to reflect on all that we have achieved in the current emergency and how to enhance future cooperation between partners in the Movement as we help communities recover over the next few years. We still have so much work to do. Now that the emergency relief phase is ending, we are committed to supporting 350,000 needy people to rebuild and recover their livelihoods,” Philippine Red Cross Chairman, Richard Gordon, said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
In the three months since Haiyan tore through the region, Philippine Red Cross, together with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have between them distributed emergency relief, including food, shelter items, water and cash to more than 1 million people.
Jagan Chapagain, Director of the IFRC’s Asia Pacific zone office, welcomed the close cooperation between Red Cross and Red Crescent partners in the emergency phase of the Haiyan operation.
“Since day one, the Philippine Red Cross response to this disaster has been truly inspiring. They have been at the forefront of relief efforts. Their years of experience and their investment in disaster management prove that preparedness really pays when this kind of tragedy strikes,” he said in the same statement.
A recent Red Cross assessment of the typhoon-affected area found that many communities starting to recover are being held back by pre-existing levels of poverty. The assessment team recommended that to have a greater impact, recovery work needs to focus on livelihoods and shelter.
“Communities have shown extraordinary resolve in rebuilding their lives after this disaster, which has decimated thousands of livelihoods. We are seeking to help the most vulnerable, often located in more remote, inaccessible areas where aid does not always easily reach, through early recovery programs aimed at getting them back on their feet again,” said Alain Aeschlimann, the ICRC’s head of operations for Asia and the Pacific.
In total, 8,500 Philippine Red Cross staff and volunteers from across the country have played different roles in the relief effort – packing and distributing relief supplies, providing emergency first aid and preventing disease, as well as clearing debris and reuniting family members separated by the disaster.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have collectively raised over 300 million Swiss Francs ($334.4 million) so far for the Typhoon Haiyan response.
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