UNICEF CANADA

Published purpose

November 19, 2013 – On November 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) made landfall in the Philippines, killing a reported 3,976 people and affecting 12.9 million people in 41 provinces. Some four million people have been reported as displaced from their homes and are seeking shelter in evacuation centres or with host families. This number is expected to rise. The typhoon caused extensive damage to infrastructure in the hardest-hit areas, making it very challenging to access affected people with emergency assistance. The latest reports indicate that the typhoon destroyed more than one million homes and that electricity and water systems are not functioning in many affected areas. The Government of the Philippines has identified the most significant needs as safe drinking water, shelter, food, medical assistance, and support to ensure adequate hygiene and sanitation. With DFATD’s support, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is addressing the emergency water, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, child protection and psychosocial support needs of 450,000 typhoon-affected people. Some project activities include: (i) promoting the importance of safe water, basic sanitation and hygiene; (ii) providing child protection services to prevent and respond to all forms of abuse, exploitation, violence and neglect towards children, including all forms of gender-based violence and trafficking; (iii) providing emergency nutrition for girls and boys, including setting up emergency infant and young child feeding centres and therapeutic feeding centres to help feed malnourished children; (iv) providing psychosocial support services for displaced preschool and school-aged children and setting up safe learning spaces; and (v) helping the Government of the Philippines to support disaster-affected communities in the recovery process by coordinating water, sanitation and hygiene, and nutrition activities to ensure effective and efficient emergency responses.