UNICEF increases staff in Yolanda-hit areas to 100

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Tuesday it has increased the number of aid workers in the provinces devastated by super typhoon Yolanda to 100 to speed up the delivery of services to more than six million children affected by the disaster.

 

In a statement, UNICEF said its staff on the ground will work with the government and aid partners to strengthen child protection systems, provide equipment for safe drinking water and deliver vaccines and food for sick and malnourished children.

The agency helped restore potable water supply to the city of Tacloban eight days after the Typhoon struck.

 

According to the United Nations, about 6 million children were affected by Yolanda. Of this number, about 1.6 million were internally displaced.

 

Last Saturday, UNICEF Executive director Anthony Lake flew to the Philippines for a four-day visit to Eastern Samar and Leyte, two of the provinces greatly devastated by the typhoon.

 

Lake said he went to the country to personally assess the condition of children affected by the typhoon and determine the kinds of aid UNICEF can provide for them. 

 

Over the weekend, Lake spoke with children, teachers and parents at numerous schools, learning spaces, child-friendly tents and vaccination sites in the two provinces.

 

“While I had followed the reports of progress closely from UNICEF's New York Headquarters, no statistics can adequately capture the physical and human challenges that remain,” Lake said. “I came here not only to see the progress first-hand, but also to thank our UNICEF staff who have been here from the start and will continue to support the rebuilding effort for the long term.”

A week after the typhoon struck, UNICEF and World Vision, another child-focused organization, set up baby tents and child-friendly spaces specifically for new mothers and children in typhoon-hit Tacloban City, Northern Cebu, and Iloilo.

 

The child friendly spaces, launched in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, aim to provide a safe and familiar haven where children can play and mingle with their peers. The play areas are housed in tents and are manned by UNICEF volunteers and the children's guardians.

 

The children’s agency has also trained 44 police and social workers throughout the affected areas to identify children who have been separated from their families and may be in need of special care.

 

Aside from establishing child friendly spaces in all typhoon-affected areas, UNICEF has also begun building Temporary Learning Spaces where students can hold classes away from the sun's glare or rain.

 

As of December, Unicef has built 193 classroom-sized tents for nearly  20,000 students, and distributed school supplies for 50,000 children. —Xianne Arcangel/KG, GMA News