Et halvt år efter tyfonen Haiyans hærgen på Filippinerne, hvor knap seks millioner mennesker mistede deres levebrød, er sket store fremskridt i hjælpearbejdet. Men særligt fiskerne oplever fortsat vanskeligheder.
MANILA, 29 May 2014 (IRIN): More than six months after Typhoon Haiyan devastated large parts of the central Philippines, progress is being made in rebuilding livelihoods. However, huge challenges remain in making them sustainable.
“What we need now is to intensify emergency employment efforts on the ground and transition into sustainable livelihood programmes,” Ruth Honculada-Georget, early recovery and livelihood co-coordinator for the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Manila, told IRIN, describing their work ahead as “enormous”.
According to a May report by the Geneva-based Internal Displacement and Monitoring Centre, progress on sustainable solutions for survivors remains key to the recovery and resilience of those affected by the Category 5 storm which slammed into the region on 8 November 2013 displacing more than 4 million people and leaving over 6,000 dead.
Of the 14 million affected, 5.9 million workers lost their sources of income and livelihoods, of which 60 percent were men and 40 percent were women, the Early Recovery and Livelihoods Cluster (ER&L – made up of more than 50 international and local NGOs and co-led by the government, ILO, and the UN Development Programme) reported on 14 May.
More than 2.6 million of those affected were already living below the poverty line or were in vulnerable forms of employment before the typhoon, including the agriculture, fishing and forestry sectors, or a combination of all three.
Wind and powerful storm surges destroyed or damaged key assets and disrupted livelihood activities resulting in income losses of up to 70 percent across the region, the Multi-Cluster/ Sector Rapid Assessment (MIRA II), a cooperative effort involving more than 40 agencies working in the nine affected regions, revealed.
The agriculture and fishing sectors were severely affected, with the main impacts on agricultural activities related to the loss of rice, coconut trees and other standing crops, authorities say. Many residents lost the tools of their trade, including farming tools, fishing boats and nets, with very few survivors having the skills to engage in alternative livelihoods during displacement.
Six months on, more than 100,000 people have been provided with short-term employment, livelihood support and services, including skills training and micro-enterprise support. However, the real needs go far beyond that.
“Farmers and fishermen and women urgently need support for the next phase of recovery,” Leo Roozendaal, Oxfam’s Asia deputy regional director, said.
“In-kind food aid will pull out and by then people will need to have restored their livelihood or found alternative livelihoods sources to be able to take over afterwards,” a report by Terre des Hommes (TDH) warned, noting “livelihood needs are largely uncovered”.
The race for rice
Læs hele artiklen her: http://www.irinnews.org/report/100148/philippines-still-rebuilding-six-months-after-typhoon-s-visit
