The United Nations has launched a new action plan to aid the victims of a strong typhoon that devastated southern Philippines last week.
The global body and its humanitarian partners are seeking for $65 million under the Bopha Action Plan for Recovery. The appeal comes two days after President Benigno Aquino III declared a state of national calamity and welcomed offers of international assistance.
Among the latest donors to offer help were South Korea, which will provide $200,000 in humanitarian aid, and Japan, which has pledged to provide $570,000 worth of relief goods to the victims of the typhoon.
Under the plan, U.N. agencies, and international as well as local nongovernmental organizations will provide food, water, shelter, proper sanitation and other lifesaving assistance to some 480,000 people affected by Typhoon Bopha. For the long term, assistance will focus on the rehabilitation of the agricultural sector.
The plan complements the United Nations’ 2013 humanitarian action plan for the Philippines, particularly conflict-afflicted, typhoon-hit Mindanao. The 2013 humanitarian action plan requests $35.5 million in funding to help build people’s resilience and the capacity of local governments to respond to crises.
The Philippines is the third most disaster-prone country in the world, according to the 2013 humanitarian action plan, experiencing an average of 20 typhoons every year. In 2011, 19 tropical cyclones hit the country. The most devastating: Tropical Storm Washi, which cost the lives of more than 1,500 people.
Typhoon Bopha has left 456 people dead as of Dec. 7, according to the situation report by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Latest data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, however, has put the death toll at 714.
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About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
