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DSWD: Baby boom could be born in Sendong tent cities


More humane conditions are not the only expected result of the movement of thousands of evacuees in northern Mindanao from crowded gyms and schools to more long-term lodgings in tent cities. A baby boom could accompany the new privacy of many couples with time on their hands, according to UN and government officials.  The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) plans to conduct family development sessions in areas devastated by tropical storm Sendong last December to avert what a visiting UN official called “unplanned and unwanted pregnancies” in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities, the two most-ravaged areas.    Reports said United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) proposed at least $1.76 million to address the “reproductive health needs of displaced populations,” as well as the monitoring, prevention and containment of possible outbreak of disease.   OCHA called for the distribution of a sexual and reproductive health (RH) “minimum initial service package” for:

  • RH kits,
  • medical missions,
  • information sessions,
  • medical supplies, and
  • temporary health posts in areas were health facilities were damaged.
Build families first  Meanwhile, the DSWD said the family sessions will aim to remind the evacuees to focus on rebuilding their lives before thinking of adding more members to their families.   "Magkakaroon ng mga family development session para talakayin ang kanilang responsibilidad bilang magulang at pangangailangan pagtayo ng pamilya at komunidad. Unahin yan bago mag-isip na magdagdag sa pamilya," DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman said in an interview on dzBB radio.   Soliman admitted that it may be difficult for evacuees to engage in sex while they are in evacuation centers due to the lack of privacy there.   "Sa loob ng evacuation centers mahirap magtalik," she said. However, the evacuees are expected to have more privacy in the temporary shelters being build for them. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) earlier deployed to Sendong-hit areas 30 disaster relief staff who will implement a shelter program using aid from the United Nations and European Union.
 
The IOM will use the $1 million it received from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and 700,000 euros from the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission (ECHO). On the other hand, Cagayan de Oro, Archbishop Antonio Ledesma earlier said he has mobilized religious women from various congregations to research on the evacuees’ needs at government shelters.
 
“Carmen Parish church has set aside some areas for temporary shelter through 20 tents good enough for 40 families,” he said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news site.
Figures from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as of Monday morning indicated "Sendong" resulted in 1,257 deaths and 4,649 injuries.   The NDRRMC said "Sendong" affected 114,228 families (or 724,729 people) from 804 villages in  13 provinces.   It left behind P1.394 billion in damage to property, including P1.111 billion in infrastructure and P282.036 million in agriculture.   Meanwhile, Soliman said the DSWD expects to complete the rehabilitation work for affected areas by end-February at the earliest, and end-March at the latest.   "Maraming initaitve na pribado, aming kino-coordinate para siguradong walang ma-duplicate at walang maiwanan," she said.  - VVP/HS, GMA News
Tags: sendong, dswd, pagasa,
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