Attachments
Highlights
- Between October 22 and November 17, the Philippines faced a series of intense weather events, affecting millions of children and families across 17 of the 18 regions.
- Severe Tropical Storm Trami (locally known as Kristine), the 11th tropical cyclone to hit the country this year, was soon followed by Super Typhoon Kong-rey (Leon), Typhoon Yinxing (Marce), Typhoon Toraji (Nika), Super Typhoon Usagi (Ofel), and Super Typhoon Man-yi (Pepito). These typhoons brought heavy rainfall nationwide, leading to widespread flooding, landslides, and damage caused by strong winds.
- The disaster affected over 10 million people (2.56 million families) within four weeks, with many of them displaced multiple times.
- UNICEF conducted rapid needs assessments in the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Aurora, and Catanduanes affected by Ofel and Pepito and updated its response plan.
Situation in Numbers
349,800 children in need of humanitarian assistance
892,200 people in need of humanitarian assistance
617,000 people displaced
190,000 damaged houses
Funding Overview and Partnerships
UNICEF Philippines is appealing for US$3,238,500 to deliver critical humanitarian services to over 47,000 people, including 20,670 children. This is an increase of $372,500 as noted in the previous Situation Report. UNICEF is updating its funding requirements to address the growing humanitarian needs based on the latest findings of rapid needs assessments and government requests. UNICEF works with key government agencies, including the Department of Health (DOH), the National Nutrition Council (NNC), the Department of Education (DepEd), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the National Child Protection Working Group (NCPWG) and their regional counterparts. UNICEF also works with national and international NGOs such as Action Against Hunger and Plan International Pilipinas.
The UN agency for children is also part of the broader Philippines Humanitarian Needs and Priorities, which aims to raise US$32,900,000 to support 210,000 people.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
The typhoons caused widespread devastation across the Philippines. Flooding, landslides, and wind damages impacted homes, schools, and health facilities, putting vulnerable populations at greater risk.
UNICEF and humanitarian partners continue to monitor the health of children and families in temporary shelters, where infectious disease risks are higher.
DOH has activated disease surveillance, with consultations focusing on respiratory infections, wounds, high blood pressure, flu-like illnesses, and acute gastroenteritis. DOH reported 93 casualties (13 deaths, 80 injuries) from Nika, Ofel, and Pepito in addition to the 249 (142 deaths, 107 injuries) from Leon and Kristine.
Flood-damaged immunization supplies – refrigerators, carriers, and syringes – have compromised routine immunization efforts meant to address the low coverage in the regions. The damaged supplies of therapeutic food, iron-folic acid, and micronutrient powder have halted treatment for severe and moderate acute malnutrition. Food rations provided to families are often unsuitable for infants.
Floodwaters submerged nutrition supplies, equipment, and commodities. Services were interrupted, especially in coastal and low-lying areas. This also affected community health and nutrition workers. The re-establishment of community- and facility-based nutrition services remains critical to ensure early identification, treatment, and management of acute malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies.
There is a need to support national and local cluster coordination and information management and to augment nutrition equipment and commodities. Protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding and access to human milk, including adherence to the government guidelines on milk donations, remain important priorities.
Children and families face significant mental health and psychosocial challenges, as they need safe spaces for play, recreation, and informal education. Disrupted protective systems have increased the risks of gender-based violence, separation from caregivers, and loss of civil documents like birth certificates. Initial assessments reveal children having anxiety, lack of privacy, and limited safe spaces in evacuation centers. DSWD reported child-headed households in Bicol region. Continuous monitoring needs to be done to ensure that these families receive their relief and other support, despite lack of adult head of the family. Establishing child-friendly spaces, restoring civil documentation, and ensuring access to resources in hard-to-reach areas requires urgent action.
Regions affected by Typhoon Kristine, including Region 2 (Cagayan Valley), Region 3 (Central Luzon) are facing issues like open defecation, uncollected trash, and outbreaks of diarrhea and measles. Despite pre-emptive evacuations helping reduce losses, the government’s water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) supplies were insufficient. A total of PHP5.8 million worth of WASH supplies being available nationwide, only PHP1.3 million were sent to local governments. Areas like Caramoan, Garchitorena, Lagonoy, San Jose, Sangay, and Siruma in Camarines Sur and Northern Catanduanes are among the hardest hit by Pepito, with urgent WASH needs identified in initial assessments.
Economic hardship has worsened, particularly in Camarines Sur, where the poverty rate is 29 per cent, far above the national average. Despite cash transfers from the government and others to affected families in Albay and Camarines Sur, the coverage is not enough to reach all affected households. As families transition to early recovery, an unrestricted multipurpose financial assistance is crucial to enable dignified decision making and prioritization of needs.