ADB gives PHL govt $20-M grant for livelihood in rebuilding 70 Yolanda-hit municipalities

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is giving the Philippine government $20 million in grant to rebuild and provide livelihood – mainly to farmers and fishermen – in 70 municipalities devastated by Typhoon Yolanda last November.

 

ADB said in a statement Thursday it signed the $20-million grant – funded by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction – with Manila late Wednesday.

 

“We have laid the groundwork to immediately put this assistance to use in cash-for-work programs and restoring crucial infrastructure, such as water systems, solid waste collection, and fuel and power supply,” said Claudia Buentjen, the Manila-based lender's principal country specialist.

 

The grant will be for cash-for-work programs to help restore income lost to by farmers and fisherfolk – who survived the the strongest typhoon to make landfall in recorded history – by providing seeds, fertilizers, fishing nets, and fishing boats.

 

ADB said the funding will be disbursed in small grants of $1 million to $8 million to communities chosen in collaboration with local officials. In addition, financial assistance will be used to repair schools, build skills in masonry, and set up a system to monitor vulnerability against future disasters.

 

In December 2013, the ADB board approved a $20-million grant package in the immediate aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda to support the early recovery of 70 poor rural municipalities affected by the typhoon.

 

ADB has already provided a $3 million grant from its Asia-Pacific Disaster Response Fund, and approved a $500 million emergency loan to meet the national government's immediate post-disaster costs. 

 

Last month, ADB opened in Tacloban an Extended Mission for post-Yolanda rebuilding and rehabilitation work. – Danessa Rivera/VS, GMA News