The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have so far provided emergency cash assistance to almost 50,000 of the most vulnerable people affected by super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).
The cash assistance, which encourages families to purchase food items from the local market, is part of WFP’s and DSWD’s continuing support to those hardest hit by the super typhoon. The intervention targets beneficiaries of DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Programme who have been identified as the most vulnerable through joint WFP/DSWD post-disaster assessments.
“We are pleased with the progress of this emergency cash assistance program with WFP, which we began rolling out in December 2013. By providing this additional cash grant to Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Programme members affected by Typhoon Yolanda, we will not only help secure their basic emergency food needs, but will also give them a diversified food basket that they will buy from the local market,” said DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman.
“The act of empowering families to choose and purchase their own food will also help animate local economies as they emerge after the devastating typhoon,” noted Secretary Soliman.
The DSWD and WFP partnership, which reinforces an already extensive and long collaborative effort between DSWD and WFP, aims to provide half a million beneficiaries (500,000) of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program with an additional P1,300 per family per month on top of the regular DSWD cash support beneficiaries receive for the months of December and January. The assistance covers some 60 municipalities in the provinces of Leyte, Samar and Panay Island.
In addition to cash, WFP will also be giving ten (10) kilograms of rice per person per household, specifically in the provinces of Leyte and Samar, to help affected families meet their minimum food requirements.
As of December 31, 2013, almost 10,000 households in Leyte have already benefited from the additional WFP cash grant and others in eastern Visayas are scheduled to receive WFP cash grants over the course of January 2014. To date, WFP has distributed more than 14,000 MT of rice, 240MT of high-energy biscuits, and 14MT of nutritional products through the DSWD and other non-government organization partners.
“WFP is grateful for the DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, which is well-established and has a proven track record of reaching those in need. By using the program’s system and network, WFP is able to efficiently and effectively reach those who need this emergency cash assistance most,” said WFP Philippines Representative and Country Director Praveen Agrawal.
“We are encouraged to see that in the last two months, Filipinos have shown much resilience. They are slowly recovering and rebuilding. WFP and DSWD continue to find the right tools at the right time for the people, and in this way we can support the rebuilding efforts in the coming months,” Mr. Agrawal added.