Report: Four Months After Typhoon Haiyan

MANILA, 7 March 2014 – Four months after Super Typhoon Haiyan ripped through the central Philippines on 8 November 2013, a growing sense of recovery is notable in the reopening of health centres, clean water flowing again through community taps, children back to learning in temporary schools.

Yet the needs of children remain great and the signs of destruction brought on by Haiyan persist as an overwhelming reminder that much more needs to be done to restore devastated lives and communities, according to a report issued today by UNICEF.

“The Typhoon hit some of the country’s poorest areas, where before the disaster some 40 per cent of children were living in poverty,” said Mr Abdul Alim, UNICEF’s Acting Representative in the Philippines. “Children were amongst the worst affected by the disaster, and they are at the centre of our response.”

“We are now on the long road to full recovery.”

The report, Four Months After Typhoon Haiyan, documents UNICEF and its partners’ work in providing 930,000 people with access to safe water and delivered hygiene supplies to more than 231,000 children across schools and child-friendly spaces. Some 83,200 children were vaccinated against measles, and 55,300 received vitamin A supplements while 97,000 children were also screened for malnutrition.

UNICEF has also supported the re-establishment of a protective environment for affected children, reaching 17,000 with psychosocial support to help address the psychological damage caused by the disaster and reduce elevated risks of abuse and violence.

More: