The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide support to Filipino families affected by Typhoon Odette in Visayas and Mindanao.
In a statement, the Manila-based multilateral institution said on Wednesday, Feb. 9, that it has approved a $2-million grant to support the emergency response to the devastation caused by the strongest typhoon to make landfall in the country in 2021.
The grant is under ADB’s Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund, which will provide humanitarian assistance to about 75,000 people in central and southern provinces severely affected by the typhoon.
ADB said the grant will fund food vouchers to be distributed to target communities, which beneficiaries can exchange for food in selected markets. It also includes logistics support for the food assistance delivery.
“Typhoon Odette’s damage on housing, agriculture, and infrastructure amid the COVID-19 pandemic has made life more difficult for Filipinos in affected areas,” Ramesh Subramaniam, ADB director general for Southeast Asia said.
“This assistance will help finance the humanitarian needs of those residents, especially people living in remote areas,” he added.
ADB is partnering with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to deliver the food assistance. It builds on WFP’s ongoing work with the Department of Social Welfare and Development to provide emergency relief to typhoon-hit areas.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council estimated the typhoon caused P24.6 billion in damage to crops, public infrastructure, and private property.
Several areas remain blocked by collapsed roads and bridges, and with power supply yet to be fully restored. The category 5 typhoon destroyed more than 1.7 million houses in eight provinces.
The United Nations estimated over 9.9 million people across the six worst-hit regions were affected by the typhoon, with nearly 144,000 people still without a home as of 28 January 2022.
In December 2021, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte declared a state of calamity for a year in the six regions to accelerate the rescue, relief, and rehabilitation efforts.