Canada donated P120-million to the Philippines to help the affected communities in Visayas and Mindanao to recover from the ravages of the typhoon “Odette”.
In a statement, the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines detailed the assistance provided to the country, following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement on Canada’s commitment to provide immediate support to relief operations on December 21, 2021.
According to Canada’s ambassador to the Philippines Peter MacArthur, the donation was provided through their partner humanitarian organizations like the Red Cross, Oxfam, Plan International, and the World Food Program.
The organizations, he said, “are well-positioned to deliver support, have existing presence on the ground and strong relationships with local authorities, other civil society organizations, and the affected communities.”
Of the total donation, Canada is providing P72 million to the World Food Program (WFP) to support their response to emergency food assistance and logistics operations in the affected communities.
It aims to help 530,000 people by providing non-perishable nutritious food, emergency cash-for-work in semi-urban and rural areas, multi-purpose cash transfers to meet immediate food needs and support livelihoods, and the facilitation of transportation and emergency logistics response equipment.
The foreign country also received P28 million through Oxfam Canada and Plan International Canada to provide multi-purpose cash assistance to support basic food and shelter needs, daily drinking water including solutions. in storage and treatment, distribution of menstrual health and hygiene kits, and facilitating access to protection services.
The assistance aims to meet the needs of approximately 30,250 people in Surigao del Norte and Southern Leyte within six months.
A total of P20 million was provided to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) through the Canadian Red Cross Society to support the IFRC emergency appeal to strengthen the activities of the Philippine Red Cross to assist in responding to health emergencies, shelter and water ( water), sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs of the most vulnerable affected by the storm.
It aims to meet the immediate needs of 81,000 of the most vulnerable affected households including women/households with children, pregnant or breastfeeding women; families with disabilities, the elderly, those suffering from chronic illness, families with children under the age of five, families who have not received any or adequate assistance from the government or other organizations, those belonging to families vulnerable to society and those lacking the resources to meet basic human needs on their own.
“Canada is deeply concerned by the aftermath of this climate change induced catastrophe. We continue to monitor the situation closely and are pleased to be working with Government of the Philippines, Canadian and international humanitarian partners in reaching out to those most affected by “Odette,” McArthur said.
“We are also pleased to hear about the UN’s rapid US $ 12 million response allocation from its Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support the response to Super Typhoon ‘Odette.’ Canada has been a leading contributor to the UN’s CERF following an C $ 88 million 3-year re-commitment made in December 2020, ”the ambassador said.
Through the Embassy’s Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, Canada has made rapid response funding of an additional P2 million to support local relief efforts in the Caraga region.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines also asked its members to donate to relief and recovery efforts spearheaded by the private sector.
