The United Kingdom is providing the Philippines P74 million or £1 million for its disaster response and relief operations in areas affected by the multiple back-to-back storms in the country’s northern region, its top envoy in Manila said Monday.
“We are hopeful that our assistance to the humanitarian efforts will help the most vulnerable to recover from the impact of the successive typhoons,” British Ambassador Laure Beaufils said in a statement.
Part of the funding, she said, will go to the World Food Program to provide cash assistance to help people meet their immediate needs and rebuild their livelihoods.
The UK is also providing support to the UNICEF’s provision of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, saying access to safe drinking water is a critical need following significant flooding in the Bicol Region. It is expected to help improve sanitation and solid waste management to reduce the risk of health risks, Beaufils said.
More than a million people were affected by previous storms and typhoon since last month, displacing 700,000 who fled their homes and moved to evacuation centers, according to the Office of Civil Defense.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of lives and destruction of homes and livelihoods brought about by these typhoons. The UK government stands beside the people affected by the devastating impact of the recent typhoons in the Philippines,” Beaufils said.
In addition to its bilateral contribution, the UK is allocating £595,000 or about P44 million in Cagayan for its rapid emergency assistance fund.
The UK has also supported relief efforts to the Philippines by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ Disaster Response Emergency Fund and the UN Central Emergency
Response Fund, which has released $3.5 million to the UN’s response. — Michaela Del Callar/RSJ, GMA Integrated News
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