The United Nations and its humanitarian partners in the Philippines on Tuesday launched the largest international humanitarian response plan in the country since Typhoon Yolanda in 2013.
With financial requirements of about P6 billion, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) COVID-19 Response Plan is focused on providing critical health interventions and multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance to the 5.4 million poorest and most marginalized Filipinos living in poor, densely populated urban areas.
It also prioritizes the safety and well-being of women and girls.
“The pandemic is challenging the capacity of response of any single country in the world. Our role is to make best use of our global knowledge and resources,” said Gustavo Gonzalez, UN resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in the Philippines.
The HCT response plan focuses on supporting the government in addressing the most immediate challenges relating to health, food security, water and sanitation, protection as well as risk communication.
Some 50 country-based UN and non-governmental partners are contributing to the response, bringing together national and international NGOs and their networks, faith-based organizations as well as the private sector.
About a quarter of the response plan has been mobilized so far, the UN official said.
The HCT response plan to COVID-19 covers the end of the year, but will be updated as needs resulting from the pandemic change, he added.
“As we work together to support government efforts to contain the virus against the demand to restore the economy, the UN and humanitarian partners will continue to seize opportunities to build greater resiliency, equity and inclusivity, in short, to build back forward better,” Gonzalez said.
The Philippines has also been included in the Global Humanitarian Response Plan, with a total of $10.3 billion, the largest in history, bringing together the response plans of 63 of the hardest hit and most vulnerable countries.