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Three Weeks After Haiyan, Remote Areas Yet to Receive Aid

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 26 2013 (IPS) - Year after year roughly eight tropical cyclones blast the Philippine archipelago washing away everything that dares to cross its path. What remains is mostly devastation. That is nothing new however, because the Philippine islands lie 1,000 kilometers from the Asia mainland; located at the rim of the Pacific Ocean; and totally surrounded by water and prone to such monstrous weather.

After the awakening from the typhoon, flurries of questions without a doubt, fill the minds of those living in the region – with hopes of a more sustainable lifestyle. However, bigger questions should emerge in the mind of onlookers across the globe, such as: How does growth occur in the Philippines each year? From whence does the economy get its resuscitation after such commotion? After annual washouts, are the citizens just left to hang dry? Those questions need to be answered by collaborative efforts of the rest of the world, with The United Nations’ initiative. And it has started.

Now three weeks past The Philippines’ disastrous typhoon Haiyan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported that more intense efforts are being poured in.

With food being the main priority, other life-saving assistance such as clean water is still urgently required. “There has been significant progress in the delivery of relief items (however) as we enter the third week of this emergency response, food remains a priority need for affected communities,” UN World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director Praveen Agrawal said.

Rice and High Energy Biscuits (HEBs) are being delivered by airlifts to remote island communities off the coast of Guiuan and Iloilo. Agrawal added that the programme is making every effort to widen its geographic scope of food-distribution to those in hard-to-reach locations on outlying islands. Many of the hard-hit citizens are just now receiving food assistance for the first time.

Thousands of people who were evacuated to public buildings, such as stadiums and schools are receiving other life-saving materials that are being flown in. And as the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) helps the government decongest evacuation centres, tents, new-born baby kits, hygiene kits and mobile storage units are being offered via the UN Humanitarian Response Depots. Other countries are also adding assistance, especially the U.S. government with its pledge of an array of support – from monetary aid to search-and-rescue missions.

This rescue effort also has a domino effect. The success of one effort is interdependent upon another. Therefore The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has mustered planes, ferries and trucks to boost the gathering and disposal of insurmountable street debris, human remains and medical waste – which needs to be disposed of in a sanitary manner. The organization has also dispatched roughly 200 men and women to begin the removal process from hospitals, schools and other areas.

“The debris removal is an important part of the relief operation as streets without rubble are a precondition for aid distribution. It is also a critical component of economic recovery,” said Haoliang Xu, UNDP’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. However, there is hope. Haoliang added. “We’re going to create 200,000 temporary jobs in debris removal in the most affected municipalities over the next six months.”

 
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