Cebu among provinces to benefit from UNDP efforts

RECOGNIZING THE country’s high vulnerability to natural disasters, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) invested some $650,000 (abou tP33 million) in the response and resilience work in Odette-hit areas, particularly for Cebu in the Visayas and Siargao and Dinagat Islands in Mindanao.

In addition, its efforts to restore critical connectivity information structure and the emergency telecommunications services for the government responders are ongoing in partnership with the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

“UNDP focuses on supporting corrective measures that will reduce the existing level of risks. We are working hand-in-hand with key government agencies and LGUs to enhance their capacities in risk management to reduce vulnerability and exposure to threats and hazards. We also want to strengthen the aspect of digital governance to make social services more accessible to people, especially in the event of natural calamity,” UNDP Philippines Resident Representative Selva Ramachandran said.

He said the South Korean government is also providing $300,000 (about P15 million) to support the UNDP in its efforts to rebuild shelters in provinces ravaged by Typhoon Odette (Rai). This partnership, he added, will focus on providing immediate relief and long-term resilience-building to affected communities in Dinagat Islands.

“To support UNDP’s initiative, the Republic of Korea has provided $300,000 to help rebuild shelters in several provinces. The selected beneficiaries will be trained in designing and rebuilding their own houses with typhoon-core shelter designs that can withstand strong winds and floods,” Ramachandran said.

The Korean shelter support is part of Seoul’s $2 million (about P102.4 million) humanitarian assistance for communities affected by Typhoon Odette. Of this funding, some $600,000 (about P31 million) will be used to deliver food to around 4,000 vulnerable households in Bohol, Southern Leyte, and other heavily-impacted areas. And some $700,000 (about P36 million) will fund water, sanitation, and hygiene services in Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Islands and Southern Leyte.

“The Embassy of the Republic of Korea is working together with the World Food Program for food assistance, UNICEF for the provision of WASH, and the Philippine Red Cross and the UNDP for housing of resilient resettlement,” the South Korean Embassy said.

Last December, the Korean Embassy made an initial delivery of 1,500 sacks of rice and 740 hygiene kits valued at $50,000 (about P2.5 million) to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

“The Embassy of the Republic of Korea hopes that the lives of the Filipino people affected by Typhoon Odette will return to normalcy at the soonest time, and (we'll) continue to work together with our friends and partners toward this objective,” it said.

Typhoon Odette struck the country in December 2021, affecting more than 8 million people. To date, the agriculture sector has incurred an estimated damage worth almost P16 billion while the damage to infrastructure has reached over P17 billion. The typhoon also left 1.4 million damaged houses and displaced around 339,000 people. (Joyce Ann Rocamora)