DAVAO CITY – Save the Children has launched an emergency response as recent government reports reveal that around 280,000 people—or more than 150,000 children—have now been affected by Typhoon Lando.
Save the Children’s Country Director, Ned Olney, in a statement said “the typhoon continues to put more children at risk, and we are now very concerned about their safety with severe flooding being reported.”
“We expect that the worst affected families will face prolonged stay in evacuation centers, and this raises our concern considering such spaces are usually unsuitable vulnerable children to live in for an extended period of time, because of limited hygiene and sanitation facilities,” he said.
The country team is now preparing an initial 1,000 relief kits for dispatch to some of the worst-affected areas in Aurora Province, where the typhoon made its first landfall. The children’s agency will be sending emergency supplies like tarpaulins to serve as emergency shelter; basic household kits containing kitchen utensils, mosquito nets and sleeping mats; water items, including water purification tablets, and household kits with soap, towels and toothbrush, for the most vulnerable families affected by the typhoon.
In support of this initial efforts, Save the Children has also launched an appeal to mount a response in different areas affected by Typhoon Lando.
Save the Children will mount a three to six months response, and will target around 8,000 households in the worst affected locations. The response will prioritize three to four sectors, including: emergency relief support (i.e. distribution of emergency shelter, household and hygiene kits), education, health and child protection.
With the typhoon’s slow movement towards the Northwest Coast of Luzon region in the Philippines, hundreds of thousands of affected Filipinos living in low-lying areas are at risk of heavy flooding due to the massive amount of rains. (davaotoday.com)
