‘Yolanda’ victims need continuous help – ICRC head

MANILA, Philippines – After a three-day visit to the Philippines, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Filipinos in disaster-hit areas, both man-made and natural, will need continuous help in rebuilding homes and livelihoods.

ICRC president

ICRC President Peter Maurer interacts with a young patient at the Basey District Hospital in Samar. PHOTO BY: ICRC/H.S. Toeli

assessed the rehabilitation efforts in areas devastated by Super Typhoon “Yolanda” (international name Haiyan) and also met with President Benigno Aquino III in Manila to discuss humanitarian issues in the country.

“I left Samar impressed by the resilience of the people I met there. In the hardest-hit areas, some survivors still need help to rebuild their homes and incomes,” Peter Maurer said in a statement Wednesday.

Last November 2013, Yolanda left a trail of destruction across provinces in the Visayas region, particularly Tacloban City where thousands lost their lives and thousands more lost their homes and livelihood.

“During my meetings with government officials in Manila, I reiterated the need for a durable solution for displaced people in Zamboanga, who are still living in difficult conditions nearly a year after the fighting came to an end in the city,” he said.

Thousands of people were forced to flee from Zamboanga City after a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front attacked the city and engaged Philippine soldiers in fierce gun fights that lasted weeks in September 2013.

More than 200 people lost their lives while homes and livelihood were destroyed from the conflict.

“[In meetings with national officials,] I underlined the ICRC’s commitment to help communities in different parts of the country to recover and rebuild amid long-standing cycles of violence and poverty,” Maurer said.

“I am convinced that the ICRC’s strong operational partnership with the Philippine Red Cross will continue to be indispensable to our efforts to respond promptly and efficiently to disasters, whether man-made or natural,” he said.

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