Red Cross seeks P1.6-B funding to aid ‘Pablo’ victims

Homeless flood survivors walk toward the gymnasium in the southern Philippine township of New Bataan in Compostela province on December 5, 2012 after the strongest typhoon Bopha pounded the island on Tuesday, leaving several deaths and and missing. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appealed for about P1.3 billion (or 30 million Swiss francs) worth of funding to support its aid operations for hundreds of thousands of survivors of typhoon Pablo (international name Bopha), which hit southern Philippines in December last year.

“Together with the Philippine Red Cross, we will provide food and other essentials, such as tarpaulins, mosquito nets, cooking utensils, and soap and other hygiene items, for up to five months to 300,000 people who lost virtually everything during the typhoon,” said Alain Aeschlimann, the ICRC’s head of operations for East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific in a statement.

The typhoon left more than a thousand people dead and hundreds missing. The hardest hit areas were Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental.

“At the same time, we will strive to help restore livelihoods. Our assistance will include a cash-for-work programme to upgrade agricultural production areas, and provide people with seed, seedlings, tools and equipment to enable them to restart farming,” he added.

The ICRC and the Philippine Red Cross will support the repair of damaged water supply systems and the reconstruction of health facilities. Some 30,000 people will also benefit from the donation of building materials to fix their partially destroyed houses, the ICRC added.

The organization also claimed they have already provided 300,000 people with food and relief supplies since the aftermath of the typhoon. They also set up a field clinic which admits more than 100 patients daily and offers free medical care, support and vaccines. They have also made drinking water available to more than 25,000 people at emergency water distribution stations they have set up.