Category: Haiyan

5.9M Filipino children suffering more

Julius Mariveles Leave a comment

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

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

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.

It’s the business of businesses to prepare for disaster: OCD official

Julius Mariveles Leave a comment

By Cong B. Corrales

IS YOUR business ready for the “ber” months? With the onset of the typhoon season in the country, an official of the Office of the Civil Defense reminded businesses prepare for the oncoming typhoons.

“Natural hazards cannot ultimately be controlled and avoided; however, the underlying factors and pressures that cause the vulnerabilities can be managed so that the disaster risks can be reduced,” Romeo F. Fajardo, OCD administrator said.

TACLOBAN CITY AFTER THE STORM. Photo taken a week after Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines | Photo by Julius D. Mariveles

TACLOBAN CITY AFTER THE STORM | Photo taken a week after Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines | Photo by Julius D. Mariveles

Drawing from the experience of typhoon Yolanda (international codename: Haiyan), Fajardo said businesses that were not fully prepared closed shop resulting to instant massive unemployment in the affected areas and making affected communities harder to recover and rebuild.

Fajardo pointed out that during typhoon Yolanda many private hospitals stopped operating, which in turn denied victims of the storm much-needed medical assistance. The reason: most, if not all, of the small to medium enterprises (SMEs) did not have continuity plans.

“Once businesses are affected the local economy of the affected area will also be affected,” he said. Had the privately-owned utilities – water, power, transport, and communications – drawn up their continuity plans before the storm, these basic lifelines could have less affected.

Business Continuity Plans include the concepts of recovery time objective (RTO), or a company-set deadline on how fast their company can recover.

AFTER THE STORM | Village 88 in Tacloban City in ruins a week after Typhoon Haiyan struck. This photo was taken a week after the storm hit the Philippines, killing close to 7,000 people according to the official count | Photo by Julius D. Mariveles

AFTER THE STORM | Village 88 in Tacloban City in ruins a week after Typhoon Haiyan struck. This photo was taken a week after the storm hit the Philippines, killing close to 7,000 people according to the official count | Photo by Julius D. Mariveles

A Business Continuity Plan does not end with the company’s employees and families but also the surrounding communities, Fajardo said.

Based on the data from the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the typhoon season in the country usually begins in June and peaks in October with at least three tropical cyclones per month, on the average.

This slightly ebbs down by November with two tropical cyclones per month. According to the World Risk Report, last year, the country is ranked third in the world most exposed and at risk to natural hazards. The Philippines has been ranked ninth and sixth in the years 2009 and 2010, respectively.

“For the Philippines, the study’s findings are simply grim: Of the 173 countries surveyed, the Philippines ranked No. 3 in its ‘most high-risk’ list. It is also the country that is the most vulnerable to risks in Asia.”

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The country is vulnerable to almost all types of natural hazards since it is situated in the Pacific typhoon belt, volcanic ring of fire and the continuing climate change brought about by the greenhouse effect. “The private sector has to survive a calamity in the country, one way or the other; thus the need for a Business Continuity Plan. This is still a new concept,” Fajardo said.

In a study by Young Won Park entitled Supply Chain Lessons from the Catastrophic Natural Disaster in Japan, last year, even if diversifying the locations of business ventures would “increase flexibility and abates risk, information ‘portability’—or the ability to quickly disseminate design and operations data along the supply chain—is also crucial to bouncing back from an unexpected catastrophe.”

OLD MAN BY THE SEA in the village of Anibong. People were killed here after their houses were crushed by cargo ships dumped on the shore by the storm surges | Photo by Julius D. Mariveles

OLD MAN BY THE SEA in the village of Anibong. People were killed here after their houses were crushed by cargo ships dumped on the shore by the storm surges | Photo by Julius D. Mariveles

“One major lesson from Japan is that companies need to disperse the flow of information along with the physical location of production. Developing ways to capture and share information throughout an existing or expanding supply chain can benefit the overall manufacturing process in addition to mitigating risk,” the same study reads in part.

Takahiro Ono, a Business Continuity Plan manager of Mitsubishi Corporation, said that Business Continuity Plans ensure continuity of operations and services; businesses could restart operations quickly within a tolerable period and can avoid going bankrupt.

Women: More problema after Yolanda

Ed Lingao Leave a comment

By Cong B. Corrales

THE STORM surges and strong winds have long been gone but people in areas hardest hit by super typhoon Haiyan last year still continue to rebuild their shattered lives.

And women are finding it more difficult than men, burdened as they are by gender discrimination, and a host of other problems that have been magnified after the storm.

More than a hundred women survivors of typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) gathered to point this out during the international aid group Oxfam’s forum on Tuesday dubbed “Women After the Storm.”

“The struggles of those from typhoon hit areas—from poverty, poor governance, and delivery of basic social services, to gender discrimination—have always been there before, and were even magnified after the typhoon,” Jing Pura, gender justice programme coordinator of Oxfam-Philippines told the PCIJ.

Derived from the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, Oxfam is an international confederation of 17 organizations working together with partners and local communities in more than 90 countries. In the Philippines, Oxfam has been operating since 1978. It is helping at least 760,000 people affected by the storm in the provinces of Leyte, Eastern Samar, and Cebu.

Haiyan – the strongest typhoon ever recorded – killed more than 6,000 people and displaced 4.1 people, 3.7 million of whom are women and girls, the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) reported.

Pura said gender inequality and discrimination are some of the underlying causes why people are still suffering nine months after the storm had passed.

“Meron kaming pagkiling sa kababaihan dahil nakikita namin na sila yung maraming dinadaanang problema at ibang sitwasyon dahil may mga inequality doon sa community. Dito sa Haiyan, yung response ng Oxfam—kasi tumutugon kami sa water, sanitation and hygiene issues, tumutugon din kami sa livelihood issues—nakita namin na hindi sila masyadong natatanong, nakokonsulta,” Pura said.

(We have a bias for women because we have seen that they are facing more problems because of the inequalities in their community; because of Haiyan, Oxfam’s response has been to help them in terms of water, sanitation, and hygiene issues. We are also helping them in their livelihood because they are not largely being consulted or asked.)

INFOGRAPHIC BY OXFAM

INFOGRAPHIC BY OXFAM

The experience of Mirasol Gayoso, a woman survivor from the fishing town of Guiuan in Eastern Samar is a stark case in point. Like her, women in their town contribute to their family’s finances by making bags and sleeping mats from indigenous hemp while their husbands fish.

“May mga organization na iba, halimbawa na kumukuha sila ng impormasyon tungkol sa mga livelihood, so mostly naka-focus sila sa mga kalalakihan. Parang nawawalan na ng time or attention ang mga babae kasi naka focus nga sa kanila. Eh, paano naman yung mga kababaihan doon napakalaking tulong din yun sa mga asawa nila,” Gayoso told PCIJ.

(There are organizations that get information about our livelihood and most of them focus on what the men are doing but they are not giving time or attention to the women. How about the women who can be of big help to their husbands?)

For Jayza dela Dia of Balanggiga town in Eastern Samar, it took 14 days for relief operations reached their town. She blamed a gap in communication.

“Delayed siguro ganon tapos may information na naiparating sa mga higher (officials) na partially damaged lang yung Balangiga ang report. Pero ang katotohanan po talaga totally damaged (sic) din po kami. Kung titingnan po yung lugar namin halos walang bahay doon nakatayo or kung may roon mang nakatayo, walang bubong at sira yung mga walls,” she said.

(It could have been delayed because information reaching the higher-ups said that Balangiga [town] was only partially-damaged but in truth, there was total destruction there; almost all houses were destroyed and those left standing had had no roofs or the walls were damaged.)

“We need to understand how women, with their families and communities, are coping and managing so that we are able to collectively re-imagine the best and most lasting ways to build back better,” Pura said.

Representatives from various national and international agencies—United Nations Population Fund, UN Women, Save the Children, Plan International, World Vision, UP Center for Women’s Studies, and Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau, Inc—also attended Oxfam’s forum.

SOME PARTICIPANTS during the forum | Photo by Cong B. Corrales

SOME PARTICIPANTS during the forum | Photo by Cong B. Corrales

Topics discussed during the forum include: rebuilding of women’s livelihoods, promoting women leadership in times of emergencies, responding to gender-based violence and reproductive health needs of women, mainstreaming gender in relocation and rehabilitation planning, and recognizing LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender) rights during and after typhoon Haiyan.

“The risks women, men, girls, and boys who are affected by Yolanda are different, and this determines who survives or who will get back on their feet. Thus, gender responsive provisions should be instilled in rehabilitation and recovery programs to address overlapping issues like land, shelter, and livelihood,” said Pura adding that it is important to have a “gender lens” in rebuilding communities after calamities.

Women: More problema after Yolanda

Ed Lingao Leave a comment

By Cong B. Corrales

THE STORM surges and strong winds have long been gone but people in areas hardest hit by super typhoon Haiyan last year still continue to rebuild their shattered lives.

And women are finding it more difficult than men, burdened as they are by gender discrimination, and a host of other problems that have been magnified after the storm.

More than a hundred women survivors of typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) gathered to point this out during the international aid group Oxfam’s forum on Tuesday dubbed “Women After the Storm.”

“The struggles of those from typhoon hit areas—from poverty, poor governance, and delivery of basic social services, to gender discrimination—have always been there before, and were even magnified after the typhoon,” Jing Pura, gender justice programme coordinator of Oxfam-Philippines told the PCIJ.

Derived from the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, Oxfam is an international confederation of 17 organizations working together with partners and local communities in more than 90 countries. In the Philippines, Oxfam has been operating since 1978. It is helping at least 760,000 people affected by the storm in the provinces of Leyte, Eastern Samar, and Cebu.

Haiyan – the strongest typhoon ever recorded – killed more than 6,000 people and displaced 4.1 people, 3.7 million of whom are women and girls, the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) reported.

Pura said gender inequality and discrimination are some of the underlying causes why people are still suffering nine months after the storm had passed.

“Meron kaming pagkiling sa kababaihan dahil nakikita namin na sila yung maraming dinadaanang problema at ibang sitwasyon dahil may mga inequality doon sa community. Dito sa Haiyan, yung response ng Oxfam—kasi tumutugon kami sa water, sanitation and hygiene issues, tumutugon din kami sa livelihood issues—nakita namin na hindi sila masyadong natatanong, nakokonsulta,” Pura said.

(We have a bias for women because we have seen that they are facing more problems because of the inequalities in their community; because of Haiyan, Oxfam’s response has been to help them in terms of water, sanitation, and hygiene issues. We are also helping them in their livelihood because they are not largely being consulted or asked.)

INFOGRAPHIC BY OXFAM

INFOGRAPHIC BY OXFAM

The experience of Mirasol Gayoso, a woman survivor from the fishing town of Guiuan in Eastern Samar is a stark case in point. Like her, women in their town contribute to their family’s finances by making bags and sleeping mats from indigenous hemp while their husbands fish.

“May mga organization na iba, halimbawa na kumukuha sila ng impormasyon tungkol sa mga livelihood, so mostly naka-focus sila sa mga kalalakihan. Parang nawawalan na ng time or attention ang mga babae kasi naka focus nga sa kanila. Eh, paano naman yung mga kababaihan doon napakalaking tulong din yun sa mga asawa nila,” Gayoso told PCIJ.

(There are organizations that get information about our livelihood and most of them focus on what the men are doing but they are not giving time or attention to the women. How about the women who can be of big help to their husbands?)

For Jayza dela Dia of Balanggiga town in Eastern Samar, it took 14 days for relief operations reached their town. She blamed a gap in communication.

“Delayed siguro ganon tapos may information na naiparating sa mga higher (officials) na partially damaged lang yung Balangiga ang report. Pero ang katotohanan po talaga totally damaged (sic) din po kami. Kung titingnan po yung lugar namin halos walang bahay doon nakatayo or kung may roon mang nakatayo, walang bubong at sira yung mga walls,” she said.

(It could have been delayed because information reaching the higher-ups said that Balangiga [town] was only partially-damaged but in truth, there was total destruction there; almost all houses were destroyed and those left standing had had no roofs or the walls were damaged.)

“We need to understand how women, with their families and communities, are coping and managing so that we are able to collectively re-imagine the best and most lasting ways to build back better,” Pura said.

Representatives from various national and international agencies—United Nations Population Fund, UN Women, Save the Children, Plan International, World Vision, UP Center for Women’s Studies, and Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau, Inc—also attended Oxfam’s forum.

SOME PARTICIPANTS during the forum | Photo by Cong B. Corrales

SOME PARTICIPANTS during the forum | Photo by Cong B. Corrales

Topics discussed during the forum include: rebuilding of women’s livelihoods, promoting women leadership in times of emergencies, responding to gender-based violence and reproductive health needs of women, mainstreaming gender in relocation and rehabilitation planning, and recognizing LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender) rights during and after typhoon Haiyan.

“The risks women, men, girls, and boys who are affected by Yolanda are different, and this determines who survives or who will get back on their feet. Thus, gender responsive provisions should be instilled in rehabilitation and recovery programs to address overlapping issues like land, shelter, and livelihood,” said Pura adding that it is important to have a “gender lens” in rebuilding communities after calamities.