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A scene in the aftermath of
supertyphoon Haiyan at the port of
Ormoc City, one of the hardest
hit areas in the Philippines
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After the world heeded the call for
more aid to reach the Philippine region affected by supertyphoon Haiyan, the
focus now is on making sure the assistance given is effectively managed and
distributed through coordination between donors, U.N. agencies, government
departments, and foreign and local NGOs and development implementers.
As foreign
aid pours in the country, it’s essential to funnel it where it is
needed the most and through the correct channels to avoid overlap and
duplication, according to a U.N. official.
“[Aid coordination] is critically
important because it’s important to get supplies to those people who are
desperately in need of them and whose lives are at risk if they don’t receive
them,” Christopher de Bono, UNICEF’s regional chief of
communication for East Asia and Pacific, told Devex. “It is all about making
sure that there is no duplication and that we support each other and ultimately
making sure people get what they need.”
Several major donors have pledged
their commitment to provide assistance, including the World Bank, European
Union, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.K. Department for
International Development and Asian Development Bank, to name a few. Most of
the aid is for immediate response (food, water and basic shelter items) as the
situation continues to deteriorate in the storm-affected areas.
Both the local and the international
response over the past few days has been seen as very encouraging, with the
Philippine government spearheading relief efforts and the international aid
community providing added manpower and survival kits.
But despite these actions, there is
growing anxiety among some local leaders that aid is being focused too much on
main urban centers like Tacloban and Palo in Leyte, the province that bore the
brunt of Haiyan’s destruction. Local leaders from neighboring municipalities in
Leyte and provinces such as Aklan are appealing for assistance too, as they
were also badly damaged and people there are running out of food, water and
other essential supplies.
“We are appealing to good-hearted
individuals to send assistance in our municipality as majority of the people
have been affected especially their livelihood and agricultural lands,” said
Ramon Oñate, mayor of Palompon, Leyte.
Relief
operations have been ongoing since Friday, as accounts of
desperation continue and evacuation centers are in danger of being looted by
hungry survivors armed with commandeered vehicles and weapons.
The Philippine government on Monday
declared most storm-affected areas under a state of national calamity to
fast-track relief efforts and rehabilitation, and also to allow the government
to control the prices of basic commodities and services to make them available
for the victims.
Needs-based relief assessment
To avoid duplication of aid delivery
and ensure that everyone who is in need of relief is given assistance, knowing
the situation and extent of damage is critical in any disaster response, De
Bono said.
“One of the consequences [of lack of
coordination] is that people don’t get what they need,” he explained. “You need
to know who the people are, what they need and how much they need to be able to
deliver it effectively. That’s the key to the process.”
This emphasis on needs-based relief
assessment has been deployed in the Philippines ever since the onslaught of
typhoon Bopha in 2012 in Mindanao to ensure humanitarian assistance is
distributed in an effective and efficient manner.
Aid must be distributed as evenly and
fairly as possible to the people who need it the most, added Orla Fagan, public
information officer at the U.N. Office for Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs in Manila.
“We provide capacity training to
government and other agencies in disaster relief and response. We also do
information gathering to know who’s doing what and where and then we share it,”
Fagan said. “We collect this information so people can see where the big gaps
are to be able to respond to the areas more efficiently. It also serves
fundraising purposes.”
But although people need basic
commodities such as food, water and shelter, the OCHA official stressed that
aid should go beyond providing these necessities. Aid groups should also invest
in long-term measures so that people would be better equipped when the next
calamity strikes.
Currently, more than 20 countries have
committed to provide assistance to the country. The government has deployed
around 800 police officers and soldiers in the affected areas to ensure peace
and security and distributed more than 50,000 relief packs a day, according to
the president.
But more help is needed.
So how can private individuals and
other groups extend a helping hand? Several international organizations have
established relief funds where private citizens and groups can make online
donations.
Two of these pooled funds are the Typhoon Haiyan Relief Fund set up by Global Impact and the donations being aggregated by InterAction, a network of U.S.-based NGOs. The funds are supporting rescue, relief and rebuilding efforts in the affected communities and the long-term rehabilitation of the people.
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