Stay up-to-date with the continuing recovery efforts in the Philippines

Topics: Emergencies and Disasters Worldwide
December 03, 2013

Stay up-to-date with the continuing recovery efforts in the Philippines

The Canadian Red Cross has a long history of providing charity funding and relief services to those around the world who have been affected by emergencies and disasters. A major part of the response effort is coordination, which depends on reliable and regular information: what communities have been impacted, which ones are in immediate need, and which have entered recovery. Information can help response workers overcome logistical challenges, whether they are debris, weather or coordinating volunteers.

Most recently, the Canadian Red Cross is supporting the Philippines Red Cross - alongside the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)  - to rise to the challenge of responding to the humanitarian situation caused by Typhoon Haiyan.

Challenges and successes in the Philippines
Haiyan was a category 5 typhoon that touched down in the Philippines early November. Current estimate
s show loss of life at more than 4,000, with 13.2 million people affected across the country - 4 million of them displaced, according to the IFRC.

Currently, the primary needs in the Philippines are shelter, water, health care, basic household supplies and volunteers who can help handle the logistics of providing aid. In fact, logistics continues to be one of the primary challenges holding back humanitarian aid from portions of the Philippines, as debris has caused impasses in certain communities. Airport and transport congestion has also been problematic.

The primary provinces affected by the typhoon are Samar, Leyte, Northern Cebu, Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan and Palawan. In Leyte, water systems and health services are completely non-functional in a number of areas. Tacloban, the capital city of Leyte, is slowly having water and telecommunications restored, and medical teams arrived to provide support. Other cluster hubs have been set up by the World Health Organization in Cebu and Manila.

Across the other provinces, there is general need for shelter materials and support for re-establishing infrastructure. While acute trauma cases following the typhoon are being handled well, chronic diseases are still at risk of spreading, and ongoing tuberculosis cases could be problematic following disruption to regular WHO treatment. Of the 221,849 women currently pregnant in the country, 15 percent are estimated to have delivery complications - though the government is working to provide maternal and child health care.

The Philippines Red Cross is currently providing everything from food to sleeping mats and psychosocial support to those affected in the country with the help of over 6,000 volunteers. The IFRC is providing the best aid it can, working with the Philippines Red Cross to develop an effective plan of action. The ICRC has also provided numerous relief services, including tracing missing persons and providing survivors with satellite phones to reassure loved ones that they are alive.

The Canadian Red Cross has sent an emergency field hospital to the Philippines and has been fundraising in an effort to send the most support and relief possible to the Philippines Red Cross and other responders. You can make a difference today - donate to the Canadian Red Cross Typhoon Haiyan Fund and help bring relief to the Philippines.

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