Philippines humanitarian bulletin

Highlights

• As the conflict continues in Marawi, authorities and humanitarian actors find ways to sustain support to those displaced.
• The delivery of activities funded by the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) reaches its midpoint and recipient agencies share learnings, challenges and next steps.
• The Humanitarian Country Team’s emergency response clusters hold a workshop to discuss key responsibilities and solutions for a mediumscale typhoon emergency.
• As part of the earthquake contingency planning for Metro Manila, the Community of Practice on Community Engagement publish the results of a pre-crisis information mapping survey and consultation.

Sustaining humanitarian response in Marawi

The conflict continues in Marawi city, with displaced communities hoping that fighting will end soon so they can return home. Many are anxious about the condition of the home they left behind, with local reports showing extensive damage to properties and infrastructure in the business district. The Government is planning for the reconstruction of the city, with the Department of Budget and Management earmarking P15 billion (US$295 million) for the next two years.

Nearly 360,000 persons continue to live with host communities and crowded evacuation centres mainly in Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte provinces.Those in evacuation centres are in a protracted situation as local authorities, with support from the humanitarian community, look to meet their needs for the coming months focusing on: food, health, water supply and sanitation, shelter and psychosocial assistance.

Meanwhile, internally displaced persons (IDPs) in host communities continue to experience inadequate assistance. There are reports of irregular food distribution, health services and poor water supply and sanitation.

Continuing needs in evacuation centres and host communities

Even before the conflict in Marawi city, most of the barangays in the municipalities now hosting displaced people were facing poverty and a lack of basic social services. With the added burden, most of the facilities are overwhelmed. Only four water trucks are delivering water to all the evacuation centres. The Department of Health, with support from partners are carrying out disease surveillance to monitor the incidence of skin diseases, acute respiratory infection, and diarrhoea, which remain the top diseases recorded at health units. It is not clear how many people with diarrhoea can access health facilities.

The WASH cluster carried out an assessment in the eastern part of Lake Lanao in the third week of September. An evacuation centre in Buadipuso Butong was found to have only one latrine and no washing facility. In Bubong, 25 displaced families share one toilet with the local community, with similar challenges found elsewhere.

In order to coordinate assistance for IDPs, the local governments of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur are convening weekly meetings at Pantar, Baloi, Pantao-Ragat, and Saguiaran municipalities and they are encouraging agencies to coordinate all assistance for the IDPs with them.

Original source: Reliefweb.
Posted on 5 October 2017