February 8, 2008

 

 

RP, U.S., AND UN CO-SPONSOR TRAINING ON DISASTER MANAGEMENT

AND INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN RELIEF EFFORTS

 

            Representatives from the Philippines, the U.S., and ten other countries involved in responding to natural disasters and complex emergencies completed a course on disaster management and international humanitarian relief efforts, held February 3-8 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Makati City. 

 

            Held in different locations throughout the year, the course is offered by the Civil-Military Coordination Section of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) to address the important need for coordination among civilian organizations, the military and UN agencies in an international humanitarian emergency.  

 

            The course was co-sponsored by the Philippine Office of Civil Defense National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), the U.S. Department of Defense’s Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (COE), and the UNOCHA.

 

            The 26 participants in the five-day course represented government agencies; non-governmental, military, and civil defense organizations; UN agencies, and other intergovernmental bodies, as well as the academia.

 

            In the Philippines, the American people have long supported Filipino families and communities who suffered from natural disasters.  In July last year, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) gave $5 million in typhoon reconstruction assistance to two international non-governmental organizations to assist typhoon-affected communities in the Bicol Region.  The funds were provided to build up to 1,000 new homes and 10 community centers for displaced residents of Albay and Camarines Sur provinces.

 

            In 2006, USAID gave more than $825,000 in assistance to victims of typhoons Reming and Milenyo, and the Southern Leyte landslides.  The U.S. military also provided assistance during the landslides, and sent sailors to the region during Operation Goodwill and the visit of the USS Comstock in 2007 to donate goods such as clothes, toys, food, and medical supplies.  U.S. Navy sailors worked with the Armed Forces of the Philippines to provide free health clinics and conduct engineering projects to repair, improve, and clean schools and evacuation centers.

 

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