Close to a year after Haiyan strikes the Philippines
By Cong B. Corrales
THE JOYS of the season may not be as felt as much by 5.9 million children in areas struck by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda in the Philippines), especially in Eastern Visayas where the super storm left a trail of death and destruction.
Poverty, specifically in Yolanda-hit areas, has made the people more vulnerable — all the more the children in these areas, a non-government organization said, Friday.
Plan International Philippines — one of the largest and oldest child-centered international NGO operating in the country— said Filipino children are twice as vulnerable because of “crippling poverty.”
A CHILD PIGGYBACKS on her mother in one of the villages devastated by the storm in Tacloban City. This photo was taken a week after Haiyan made landfall in Tacloban and other parts of the Visayas, killing thousands of people | Photo by Julius D. Mariveles
“Even a glance at child poverty statistics in the Philippines and the disaster risk profile of areas prone to multiple hazards reveals how the combination of poverty and disaster creates ‘double vulnerability’ for children, who are the most vulnerable group in any population and under any circumstance,” Carin Van der Hor, Country Director of Plan International Philippines, said.
Van der Hor cited the 2009 United Nations global assessment on disaster risk that the Philippines has a seven percent possible mortality rate than Japan should a cyclone with the same intensity hit both countries at the same time.
“Poverty plays a big part in this unacceptable discrepancy,” Van der Hor said.
CHILDREN bring home relief goods as night falls in Tacloban City. This photo was taken a week after Typhoon Haiyan hit the city, one of the hardest-hit areas in Eastern Visayas | Photo by Julius D. Mariveles
Van der Hor added it is this dire situation, particulary in Eastern Visayas where 5.9 million children live, that have worsened their lives when Yolanda hit their region.
Data gathered by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), showed that 13.4 million young Filipinos experience a severe lack of food, shelter, health, and education. Plan International said this means that more than a third of the country’s population under 18 years old are more vulnerable to bear the brunt whenever a natural calamity hits their areas.
As part of their overall response to address this vulnerability among Filipino children, Plan International also promotes “supplemental feeding.” It is a training program that is aimed at improving the nutritional needs of the children in Yolanda-hit areas.
Plan International Typhoon Haiyan Emergency Response Manager Richard Sandison told PCIJ that they launched a survey in Yolanda-hit areas specifically to categorize how severe malnutrition is in the region even before Yolanda happened. They did the technical survey together with other international NGOs within the social welfare cluster, Sandison added.
“The number of severely malnourished children is very low. What’s concerning, though, is the levels of stunting and chronic malnutrition which is running over 50 percent. So it’s a long-term nutrition issue in the Yolanda-hit areas. This is pre-Yolanda so this is not a direct result of the typhoon but it has made them a lot more weaker and a lot more vulnerable,” Sandison said.
Plan International Philippines was among the first organizations on the ground to mobilize relief efforts for typhoon survivors after Yolanda hit, and continues to do so through recovery and rehabilitation assistance aimed to help communities in “building back better and safer” as a response to future challenges.
The “Building Back Better” project is much more than an approach to construction but that community recovery efforts result in safer, more resilient buildings and infrasture, access to safe drinking water and other services.
Plan International Philippines has helped 1.3 million Yolanda survivors last year and it continues to work Tacloban City with government partners and 6,000 community member-beneficiaries on their “Building Back Better” project.
“It means working with communities on their recovery journey, involving them as partners in the recovery process, providing emotional support and building knowledge, community spirit and resilience,” said Sandison.
He added that these are things that are not seen immediately but can withstand any challenges the Yolanda-hit areas may encounter in the future.