The collaboration of humanitarian efforts coupled with people’s remarkable resilience over the last six months ensured no famine, no disease outbreaks, and no secondary major displacement.
Tacloban / Super Typhoon Haiyan / In this picture shows the permanent resettlement area for typhoon survivors in New Kawayan village in storm-hit city of Tacloban in the central Philippines. According to the latest report of a UN refugee agency, six months after the deadly storm, humanitarian situation remains stable due to close coordination between the Philippine government and international donors that guaranteed a steady stream of assistance to typhoon survivors. UNHCR / J.Maitem/ May 2014
Six months after typhoon Haiyan struck a deadly smite that pummeled houses and washed out villages in Central Philippines, the situation has progressed as a result of close coordination between the Philippine government and humanitarian actors that guaranteed a steady stream of assistance to the affected and most vulnerable.
The UN Refugee Agency is underscoring the accomplishment made with the Philippine government stating that the collaboration of humanitarian efforts coupled with people’s remarkable resilience over the last six months ensured no famine, no disease outbreaks, and no secondary major displacement.
Bernard Kerblat, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative to the Philippines said that “the presence of humanitarian actors in this response is to complement the Philippine government and its institutions in averting retrogress of the achievements made so far.”
“A lot has been accomplished by the Philippines even if much needs to be done given the enormity of the task at hand. However, we are still wary of the gaps in aid provision of which, shelter and livelihood remain outstanding needs,” Kerblat added.
The focus of humanitarian actors has started to shift from relief towards recovery. For their part, the UNHCR advocates for finding and providing longer term durable solutions, and enhanced protection environment for the four million people displaced by Haiyan.
The UNHCR which co-leads the protection cluster in the Philippines with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is working with the government to protect the most vulnerable among the millions affected by the typhoon including children, women and girls, persons with disability, elderly persons, indigenous people in remote areas, and the internally displaced persons (IDPs).
To operationalize its strategy, the protection cluster facilitated the capacity development of personnel of security forces from the military and the police, civilian authorities and service providers on the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, child protection, sexual and gender-based violence, and human trafficking. Further, specific training on protection cluster coordination and leadership has been conducted for staff members of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and DSWD as well as local government authorities.
“The typhoon paralyzed operations of most local government units which resulted in reduced capacity in responding to people, that is why we are providing trainings to capacitate and prepare them in mitigating protection risks usually brought by natural disasters like supertyphoon Haiyan,” Kerblat said. He commends the national and local government authorities in fulfilling their primary duty and responsibility to provide protection and humanitarian assistance to their people, which is in accordance with Principle III of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.
Kerblat pointed out that in moving forward, the sixth-month commemoration is a tribute to the positive spirit and resilience of survivors who continue to weather the impacts of Haiyan. “In the end, this is about the people and the disaster response should always be geared towards informing them. Any intervention given to them should be a direct consequence of proper consultation with the government and the people it serves,” Kerblat said.
To date, UNHCR assisted over 600,000 persons with specific needs by providing some 10,000 tents, 100,000 plastic sheets, 88,000 blankets, 14,000 kitchen sets, 33,000 jerry cans as well as19,000 solar lanterns in achieving its priority protection objectives such as improving physical security of persons with specific vulnerabilities, outreach to remote communities, promoting child protection and prevention of gender-based violence. Further, gifts-in-kind from private corporations, including 500 chainsaws from Huqsvarna, 800,000 pieces of clothing from UNIQLO, 500 gumboots and over 2,000 mattresses and bedspreads from Ikea, were distributed to the affected communities and local NGO partners.
In addition, UNHCR has initiated, in consultation with the government, a free mobile civil registration project in 20 of the most affected municipalities. The documentation project aimed at reconstructing, registering and issuing civil records and legal documents to affected population allows them to continue to access state welfare, education, and employment. This initiative is backed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and International Organization for Migration (IOM), INGOs and NGOs. Launched in April, at least 43,000 persons-of-concern have been issued vital civil documentation like birth certificates, marriage certificates, and death certificates to date.
Contact persons:
Marmie Liquigan 09189208765 | [email protected]
Kent Bolisay 09155921568 | [email protected]
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