AUSTRALIA SUPPORTS PHILIPPINE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS THROUGH WFP RICE CONTINGENCY STOCK

MANILA – With the Philippines currently experiencing disastrous floods, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) recently received a generous grant of $AU1 million (approximately Php43.8 million) from the Australian Government to significantly boost WFP’s contingency food stocks for enhanced disaster response capacity in the Philippines. 

The contribution, made through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), will be used to dispatch rice to flood-affected people, augmenting the Philippine Government’s relief response.    

“WFP is grateful to the Government of Australia for this generous donation. WFP is actively supporting efforts of the Government of the Philippines to prepare for and mitigate the effects of natural disasters at both national and local levels,” explained WFP Representative and Country Director Stephen Anderson.

“Learning from past emergency responses, establishing a strategic contingency stock of food to complement government efforts is both an efficient and cost-effective preparedness and response measure,” he added.

The WFP contingency food stock in the Philippines will include 200 metric tons of fortified high-energy biscuits and 1,500 tons of rice, enough to support 320,000 people for two weeks.

This contingency food stock will be distributed in direct coordination with WFP’s main government partner, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which is also the lead government agency for emergency food response.

“The Australian Government is providing these items to the World Food Programme so that they can be drawn upon immediately in serious situations, such as this massive flooding caused by continuous heavy rains for the past two weeks,” Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Bill Tweddell said.

“This allows Australia and WFP to support the Philippine Government to respond quickly and effectively to essential humanitarian needs following emergencies and disasters. This assistance builds on the significant support Australia has already provided to the Philippines on disaster risk management and climate change adaptation, including hazard and risk analysis, integrating disaster and climate considerations in development and land use planning, community-based disaster preparedness and providing safer settlements.”

The Australian Government is among the top donors to the World Food Programme globally and has also provided generous support for WFP’s disaster preparedness and response initiatives in the Philippines.  Recently, AusAID contributed to the response to Tropical Storm Washi (Sendong) by providing food and cash assistance to support emergency relief and early recovery activities.

About WFP

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  Each year, on average, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in more than 70 countries.

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About Australian AID

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) is the Australian Government agency responsible for managing Australia's overseas aid program. The fundamental purpose of Australian aid is to help people overcome poverty.

WFP SUPPORTS GOVERNMENT RELIEF EFFORTS FOR FLOOD-AFFECTED COMMUNITIES

WFP News Release

A family in Tunasan Elem. Sch., Muntinlupa receives DSWD relief pack

MANILA – In the wake of monsoon rains that have brought severe floods to the Luzon and Visayas regions, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has mobilized logistics and food support tocomplement the Philippine Government’s emergency relief efforts, working closely with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

“WFP is saddened by the humanitarian impact of the non-stop rains over the last week in the Philippines, and we would like reiterate our solidarity with the Philippine Government during times of emergencies.  We stand ready to offer our full support to augment government efforts when needed,” said WFP Philippines Representative and Country Director Stephen Anderson.   

WFP has delivered a total of 52.5 metric tons of high-energy biscuits to benefit 262,500 flood-affected individuals from the National Capital Region, Region III, and Region IV-A. These biscuits are currently being distributed by the DSWD.

Most of the biscuits (39.5 metric tons) will go to Regions III and IV-A, which the government has identified as the most flood-affected, where they will be distributed to 197,500 people.

The remaining 13 metric tons will assist 65,000 flood-affected people in the National Capital Region, which includes the areas of Manila, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Paranaque and Quezon City.

High-energy biscuits are wheat-based biscuits fortified with vitamins and minerals. They are often distributed during the first few days of an emergency, when people have limited access to cooking facilities.

In addition to distributing the biscuits, WFP is contracting trucks to help transport DSWD relief supplies to affected communities in Metro Manila and neighbouring provinces.

In the coming days, WFP will also distribute nutritious ready-to-use supplementary food to about77,000 flood-affected children (aged 6 to 36 months) in Luzon, in partnership with the Department of Health.

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  Each year, on average, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in more than 70 countries.

Twitter: @wfp_asia and @wfp_philippines and @wfp_media

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US GOVERNMENT SCALES UP SUPPORT FOR WFP DISASTER PREPAREDNESS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Manila, Philippines – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) received a US$3.75 million (approximately PhP 160 million) grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which will be used to expand WFP’s disaster preparedness and response programme in the Philippines.

Working in close partnership with the central government and the Office of Civil Defense, WFP and local government units in four disaster-prone provinces of Sorsogon, Benguet, Cagayan and Laguna have been rolling out a disaster preparedness and response pilot programme focused on building local emergency management capacity, disaster mitigation and protection of livelihoods.

“The Philippines was among the world’s most disaster-affected countries in 2011 and WFP is doing its utmost to build resilience among vulnerable communities to allow them to better cope with natural disasters,” said WFP Philippines Representative and Country Director Stephen Anderson. “WFP is grateful to the U.S. government for its   support, which builds on the successful results achieved by national and local governments over the past year.”

The new funding from USAID will enable WFP to expand its disaster preparedness activities to parts of the Visayas (Iloilo) and Mindanao (Cagayan de Oro, Butuan and Davao), and to engage local non-government organizations and universities in efforts to build resilience to natural disasters, increasingly exacerbated by climate change.

The key components of this expanded initiative will include community-driven disaster mitigation and preparedness projects such as flood control and landslide mitigation activities, training for disaster management personnel tailored to local needs such as contingency planning, and the promotion of innovative and cost-effective disaster mitigation and climate change adaptation projects such as early warning techniques.  

This latest contribution from USAID brings the cumulative total of U.S. funding support for WFP’s disaster preparedness and response programme in the Philippines to US$4.5 million.  As with the pilot phase, complementary matching resources from the national government and local government will be sought to reinforce the programme’s sustainability.

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About WFP

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  Each year, on average, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in more than 70 countries.

 Twitter: @wfp_asia and @wfp_philippines and @wfp_media

Facebook: WFP Philippines

About USAID

For 50 years the United States, through USAID, has been a key partner of the Philippines in addressing the humanitarian needs of Filipinos in times of disaster.  The United States was among the countries that took an active role in contributing to recovery efforts following Typhoons Reming and Milenyo in 2006, Frank in 2008, Tropical Storm Ondoy in 2009, Typhoon Juan and Tropical Storms Pepeng and Santi in 2010, and Sendong in 2011.  For more information, visit http://philippines.usaid.gov.

Saudi Envoy Hands Over 60 Tons of Dates to WFP for Conflict-Affected Communities in ARMM

Royal Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ambassador to the Philippines Abdullah Al-Hassan (second from left) and senior representative of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Finance in Riyadh Saad Al Sunaidi (far left) formally hand over 60 tons of dates to U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) Philippines Representative and Country Director Stephen Anderson (far right), with Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of Middle East and African Affairs Executive Director Neal Imperial (second from right) acting as witness.  

The generous date donation from the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest ever to WFP Philippines.  In coordination with the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development, WFP will distribute the food to 30,000 vulnerable families in the conflict-affected provinces of Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.    

Photo Credit: WFP/Anthony Lim/Philippines

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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  Each year, on average, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in more than 70 countries.

Twitter: @wfp_asia and @wfp_philippines and @wfp_media

Facebook: WFP Philippines

Aquino government hails new study on the impact of Central Mindanao conflict and displacement

Research commissioned by the World Bank and World Food Programme notes persistent challenges after displaced households return to their homes.

MANILA, APRIL 26, 2012 — Cycles of violent conflict in Central Mindanao have resulted in the mass displacement of nearly a million people from their homes over the past 12 years. In 2003, tens of thousands were displaced by armed conflict and, more recently, thousands of families had to leave their homes yet again when fighting escalated in parts of Zamboanga Sibugay and Basilan in October 2011. Currently, several thousand people across Mindanao remain displaced, particularly in Maguindanao.

Disrupting livelihoods are presenting major challenges to both affected families and the government, these concerns do not necessarily end with the return of displaced individuals to their places of origin, a study by the World Bank (WB) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) during a launch at the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cabinet Cluster revealed.

The survey, conducted in the last quarter of 2010, interviewed 2,759 randomly selected households from a total of 231 barangays across five provinces – Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), as well as Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.

The study – ”Violent Conflicts and Displacement in Central Mindanao: Challenges for Recovery and Development” – reveals that four in every ten households in the surveyed areas experienced displacement from 2000 to 2010, with one in five displaced two or more times, and one in ten forced to leave their homes up to five times during this period.

Displacement is detrimental to livelihoods, welfare and social cohesion across virtually every key indicator: food security, access to basic services, income poverty and housing, the study found.
      
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Dinky Soliman welcomes the report’s “important insights on the inter-related dimensions of conflict, displacement and economic growth” in Central Mindanao. “The data provides a basis that will allow the relevant departments of government and other development partners to offer targeted recovery and render extensive development support in affected areas, especially in the most vulnerable households,” she said.

Secretary Teresita “Ging” Quintos-Deles of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) also lauds the study, finding the report a “very relevant guide” in government efforts to address the needs of conflict-affected communities under the current Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (Peaceful and Resilient Communities or PAMANA) program.

“It is also important that interventions under PAMANA be based on detailed knowledge of livelihood opportunities and access to land, credit availability and food supply. These indicators vary from place to place,” Secretary Deles noted.

For his part, World Bank Country Director Motoo Konishi observed that the report sheds considerable light on the nature and extent of vulnerability across provinces, population categories, and livelihood groups in affected areas. “It can shape the operational choices of humanitarian, recovery and development agencies and improve outcomes for the population on the ground,” he said.

WFP Representative and Country Director Stephen Anderson meanwhile said that the study would help agencies like WFP “better target food assistance as well as help communities strengthen their resilience to conflict and natural disasters.”

Mr. Anderson noted that “the two ARMM provinces in Central Mindanao – Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur – suffer the highest levels of food insecurity. This is exacerbated by high levels of exposure to shocks, such as recurrent flooding and crop disease that make people poorer and more food insecure.”

Looking at the vulnerability of communities in Central Mindanao, the study found that households experiencing displacement have been “frequently exposed to violence.”  Movements of armed military and rebel groups were cited by 29 percent of the surveyed households as one primary cause of their displacement, while 9 percent blamed it on clan conflict or rido.

The report said that host families also feel the pressures of displacement from additional financial costs. Some host families, usually relatives, “had to resort to selling goods or assets to provide food and support” for the displaced people they were hosting.

Of the areas surveyed, Maguindanao province accounted for the highest degree of vulnerability, with about 82 percent of all households in the area affected by displacement due not only to violent conflict but also to weather-related disasters. These displacements represented the two poorest wealth quintiles, where households suffered the highest levels of food insecurity and the lowest incomes.

When asked to identify their top priorities, surveyed households ranked money, employment, food, health and education, in that order. Respondents called for government attention to these basic needs, as well as the construction of roads and the need of electricity.

Respondents also identified economic development, the signing of a peace agreement and ending impunity as critical interventions

The DSWD and OPAPP, in partnership with the World Bank and WFP, plan to disseminate the results of this study through a series of presentations in various fora in Manila and Mindanao.

WFP and JICA support Sendong survivors in remote Iligan villages

Photo Credit: WFP/Marilou Morales Cezar/Philippines

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Chief Representative Takahiro Sasaki (far right) and U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) Philippines Representative and Country Director Stephen Anderson (second from left) recently visited remote villages of Lanipao, Dulag, Kalilangan and Panoroganan in Iligan City, accessible only by motorcycle, to jointly distribute food, cooking utensils and other items to 750 families who were highly affected by Tropical Storm Sendong (international name “Washi”) in December 2011.  JICA and WFP provided this humanitarian support in partnership with the local government of Iligan City and the Bangsamoro Development Authority, and also with the participation of the International Monitoring Team and the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  Each year, on average, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in more than 70 countries.

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WFP RECEIVES GENEROUS DONATION FROM PIZZA HUT & TACO BELL FOR SENDONG SURVIVORS AND PROGRAMMES IN MINDANAO

MANILA – Through the Yum! Brands World Hunger Relief campaign, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants in the Philippines have contributed Php 6.1 million (US$144,000) to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) for its activities in Mindanao. The donation will support the on-going relief and early recovery operation for victims of Tropical Storm Washi (Sendong) and school meals programme in conflict-affected areas of central Mindanao.

“We are deeply impressed with the dedication of Pizza Hut and Taco Bell staff who actively promoted the World Hunger Relief campaign in their restaurants, and in the process raised generous support to help fight hunger,” said WFP Philippines Country Director and Representative Stephen Anderson. “We are also grateful that they extended their campaign to seek additional assistance for Tropical Storm Washi survivors.”    

About 155 Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants, which are part of the Yum! Brands chain, collected donations throughout the country during a campaign from November 2011 to January 2012. As part of the campaign, Taco Bell donated Php 10 to WFP from each purchase of a special meal dedicated to supporting school meals programmes. Contributions were also collected in nationally distributed donation boxes.

Customers who donated Php 40 or more received a Christmas postcard featuring World Hunger Relief Volunteer Ms. Venus Raj, who is a Department of Social Welfare and Development Ambassador for Poor Children’s Rights and Welfare.

“We are very proud of our Pizza Hut and Taco Bell employees, and thank our customers whose efforts allowed us to exceed our campaign goals,” said Pizza Hut and Taco Bell Philippines Chief Operating Officer Lars Peterson. “This means more Tropical Storm Washi survivors will receive much-needed assistance, and more school children will benefit from WFP school meal programmes.”      

Last year, Pizza Hut donated Php 4.5 million to WFP to support the school meals programme in Central Mindanao, which provided 450,000 meals for 80,000 primary schoolchildren. School meals encourage children to attend school and help them to learn better when they get there. By providing children with the food they need to develop their physical and intellectual potential, school meals act as an important investment in the next generation and help to break the cycle of poverty and hunger.

The World Hunger Relief campaign raises both awareness and funds for WFP’s most urgent hunger needs, especially school meals programmes. Since its launch in 2007, World Hunger Relief has raised nearly US$85 million for WFP and other hunger-fighting organizations, providing more than 350 million meals and saving the lives of millions of people in 39 countries.

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About WFP

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  Each year, on average, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in more than 70 countries.

WFP now provides RSS feeds to help journalists keep up with the latest press releases, videos and photos as they are published on WFP.org. For more details see: http://www.wfp.org/rss.

Twitter: @wfp_asia and @wfp_philippines and @wfp_media

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WFP supports DSWD in Strengthening Logistics Information System for Disaster Response Preparedness

  

Photo Credit: WFP/Philipp Herzog/Philippines

Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman and World Food Programme Philippines Country Director and Representative Stephen Anderson recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement to strengthen the DSWD’s disaster response capacity.  The partnership, funded by the USAID/Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance, aims to use information and communication technologies to improve logistics information flow within DSWD, which will be of particular relevance in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters, providing the Philippine Government with timely and accurate information that will allow for swifter emergency responses.  WFP National Ambassador Against Hunger KC Concepcion witnessed the signing. 

 

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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  Each year, on average, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in more than 70 countries.

WFP now provides RSS feeds to help journalists keep up with the latest press releases, videos and photos as they are published on WFP.org. For more details see: http://www.wfp.org/rss

Twitter: @wfp_asia and @wfp_philippines and @wfp_media

Facebook: WFP Philippines