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Philippines

Statement by Mr. Gustavo Gonzalez UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in the Philippines (February 2, 2022)

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Manila – With the number of people severely affected by Typhoon Rai - known locally as Odette - reaching almost 10 million, the Humanitarian Country Team in the Philippines is today launching a scaled-up Humanitarian Needs and Priorities Plan (HNP), calling for US$169 million (PHP8.6 bn) aiming to help the 840,000 most vulnerable people. This is up from 530,000 people targeted in the initial HNP released on 24 December 2021.

Typhoon Rai swept through 11 of the country’s 17 regions on 16 and 17 December, bringing torrential rains, violent winds, floods and storm surges to the Visayas and Mindanao Islands. In some areas, the level of devastation is comparable to that of Typhoon Haiyan (2013), still present in the memory of Filipinos.

The revised HNP reflects our new understanding based on over 70 field assessments, that despite the massive rapid response by the Government and civil society organizations, humanitarian needs remain very high. Affected regions bore massive damage to infrastructure, agricultural land and the fishing sector, with local economies and livelihoods hit hard.

Seven weeks after the typhoon, nearly 144,000 people remain displaced, and 1.7 million houses, 16,000 schools and 330 health clinics have been damaged or destroyed. Over 10 million hectares of crops were affected and 80 municipalities are still experiencing power outages or disruptions.

People urgently need shelter and repair kits to rebuild their homes; food, clean water and access to medicines; and access to sanitation facilities. Protection must run through all operations. Children need access to education since planned re-openings in select schools have come to a halt due to damages. Hundreds of thousands of people – particularly members of the farming and fishing communities – have lost their livelihoods and need help to get back on their feet.

Typhoon Rai aggravated a situation that was already fragile due to the pandemic, but it also hit some of the poorest areas of the country. The challenges are enormous and exceed the capacity of any one organization. Only by working hand in hand with the Government and mobilizing the necessary resources can we ensure that these regions are not left behind. I call on the international community to join and support our collective Humanitarian Needs and Priorities Plan.

The revised HNP will address needs in Caraga and Southern Leyte as well as in two additional areas of Region VII: Bohol and Cebu. The top response priorities for the sixmonths plan are shelter, food security and agriculture, water sanitation and hygiene (WASH), protection and early recovery. Support for education is also prominent.

A crisis within a crisis, Typhoon Rai hit just as the Philippines was experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases, slowing the response and burdening the already disrupted medical system.

This follows two years of a pandemic that has heightened vulnerability and now threatens to erode many hard-won development gains across the country. Swift and generous support from donors is vital to protect these important development progress from backsliding. By supporting the HNP we are backing the work of more than 70 national and international organizations to save lives, protect the most vulnerable and lay the groundwork for recovery and reconstruction.