Unicef goes on full alert for Typhoon Ruby victims

While the weather is still good on Saturday morning, Gerard Forbe puts sandbags on the roof of their house to make sure of their safety once Typhoon Ruby brings strong winds and rains in Barangay Binitayan, Daraga, Albay. MICHAEL B. JAUCIAN/INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines—Unicef Philippines went on full-preparedness mode to assist children and families as Typhoon “Ruby” (international name: “Hagupit”) bore down on Eastern Visayas.

“Unicef is working with national and local governments and partners to safeguard children and families, and to ensure that they are prepared and supported,” Unicef Philippines representative Lotta Sylwander said in a statement.

“We are closely monitoring the situation and teams are in place in Tacloban City, ready to respond to this new emergency,” Sylwander said, adding: “It is unfortunate that some of the communities recovering from last year’s [Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan)] are faced again with yet another typhoon. Unicef will continue to be there by children and communities to assist them through this impending calamity.”

The Unicef Tacloban Office that was put up in Yolanda’s wake is investing its 54-strong capacity in working with the local government and partner agencies on preparedness.

Prepositioned essential supplies are ready to be deployed from Unicef’s global warehouse in Copenhagen and local warehouses in Manila, Leyte and Cotabato. These emergency supplies include water kits, hygiene kits, water purification units, school tents, student and teacher materials, child-friendly space tents, medical supplies, nutritional therapeutic food items to combat malnutrition, oral rehydration salts, tarpaulins and generators enough for at least 10,000 families.

In times of disaster, children face the risk of disease outbreaks, malnutrition, violence and disrupted education. In the past months, Unicef and its partners have been working closely with local government units to build their resilience and capacity to respond to emergencies through the strengthening of disaster risk reduction systems.

Unicef said that through its partnerships with local and international nongovernment organizations, it would complement the Philippine government’s preparedness activities and provide support in the areas of WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), health and nutrition, child protection and education.