PRC, British Red Cross pledge P1.7B worth of programs for ‘Yolanda’ rehab

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MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and its British counterpart pledged on Monday P1.7 billion for various recovery and rehabilitation programs aimed to help hundreds of thousands of victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

In a memorandum of understanding signed on Monday, the PRC and the British Red Cross (BRC) said the £23 million (equivalent to P1.7 billion) they promised to shell out was intended for future programs that would support 300,000 households in 10 provinces devastated by the deadly typhoon.

These programs will cover mostly shelter, livelihood and agriculture, according to Sir Nicholas Young, the chief executive of the British Red Cross.

“It’s not a question of what you give, but it’s a question of what you create,” said PRC Chair Richard Gordon during the signing of the memorandum at the PRC headquarters in Manila.

“This newly created partnership will play host to multiple recovery and rehabilitation projects for the benefit of those affected by the supertyphoon ‘Yolanda’ and will last until December of 2016,” added Gordon.

Following the typhoon, one of the deadliest to hit the country, the BRC had provided funding and relief stocks, which included emergency shelter and hygiene kits, mats, blankets, buckets and food packages, to 57,000 affected families.

It also pledged £250,000 to finance PRC’s initial emergency response operations in Eastern Visayas, where more than 6,000 people were killed.