Locations
Support to Typhoon Recovery and Resilience in the Visayas
Support to Typhoon Recovery and Resilience in the Visayas
January 20, 2014
Only two months after Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) devastated one of the poorest parts of the Philippines, recovery efforts are in full swing. Millions remain displaced but many are returning home. The government and international community’s responses have been quick, while the people themselves are determined to rebuild their lives.
By supporting this momentum now, we can help vulnerable people avoid falling deeper into poverty as a result of this disaster. Help given now could see more
prosperous and resilient communities emerge along the path of destruction carved out by this super storm in November 2013.
UNDP has already launched emergency employment and debris clearance efforts, but we are also looking to the future.
Highlights
- 39,886 vulnerable people have secured temporary jobs clearing debris 36 percent are women. In-line with government policy, the workers earn a minimum wage. They are selected in coordination with local authorities and community leaders to ensure that the job opportunities are available to those that need it most. They are paid weekly, and each person is employed for up to 15 days.
- UNDP has positioned 65 chainsaws and ten mobile sawmills in four locations: Tacloban, Guiuan, Ormoc and Roxas. With the typhoon having felled or damaged around 33 million coconut trees, there is an opportunity now to turn this debris into livelihoods.
- 1,858 vulnerable people, with a focus on women, are enrolled in skills training efforts focused on carpentry, masonry, electrical, and plumbing. This will enable them to develop the skills to rebuild and repair their own shelters and other community infrastructure, and to seek jobs in the booming building sector.
- A UNDP-supported scoping mission on establishing a national aid management tracking system for the Yolanda response has concluded. Drawing on the experiences of Indonesia in using the Recovery Aceh-Nias database, the mission provided recommendations for creating an information management system, which will serve as the government's transparency tool. Work is now underway to operationalize a proposed system.