The United States government has provided an additional P73 million ($1.5 million) in food assistance to support around 8,000 highly vulnerable persons and displaced families in Lanao del Sur.
Through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), families will receive electronic cash transfers that enable them to purchase food in local markets.
This brings the total US commitment to humanitarian and recovery work in and around Marawi to more than P3.1 billion ($65.1 million).
According to the US Embassy in Manila, this assistance has been complemented by a messaging campaign promoting safe hygiene practices to equip communities with the knowledge and skills they need to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has stripped many households of vital sources of income and made those displaced by conflict especially vulnerable,” US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires John Law said, adding that the US continues to support the people of Marawi to overcome this health crisis and continue on their path to long-term recovery.
This new food funding also supports ongoing USAID assistance to 3,700 displaced families and the nutrition for 5,000 children and 6,000 pregnant women and lactating mothers.
The assistance, likewise, complements the US agency’s work with Lanao communities under its Marawi Response Project (MRP).
As of July 2020, MRP has provided micro-grants to more than 1,000 displaced entrepreneurs as well as communities, to revive their economic livelihoods and create jobs.
To address COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), MRP is providing training, protective gear, and disinfectants to more than 3,300 public health workers.