More foreign aid needed for emergency shelters—UN

MANILA, Philippines – More foreign aid is needed to augment the lack of emergency shelters, which has been underfunded since Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) flattened coastal cities last year, the United Nations (UN) humanitarian office said in a report.

Only 12 of the 33 emergency housing projects have received $40.088 million in funding, or only 22 percent of the total $178.4 million eyed as budget by international aid organizations, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (UNOCHA) in its January 14 report.

The remaining 21 have yet to receive funding, according to the UN’s list of planned projects in the Financial Tracking Service website. Two of these projects have been withdrawn from the list.

“Shelter is seriously and disproportionally underfunded: So far only 12 of the 33 projects in the Strategic Response Plan’s shelter section have received funding,” the United Nations said in their report.

It added that the “(l)ow funding for recovery shelter and limited transitional settlement options are prolonging the stay of displaced people in evacuation centers.”

The UN report came out amid reports that the temporary bunkhouses for “Yolanda” survivors spearheaded by the Department of Public Works and Highways were supposedly substandard and overpriced.

Appointed rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson said he has been investigating the overpricing claims since December. He disclosed that a politician in the area has been colluding with contractors for 30 to 35 percent in kickbacks.

At least 1.1 million houses were damaged while 550,000 were destroyed by Yolanda, displacing some 4.1 million people, according to the report citing government figures.

Yolanda, the world’s strongest typhoon to hit land, has claimed over 6,100 lives and affected over 14 million people, according to latest figures.

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