EU to assist families affected by typhoon

MANILA, Philippines - The European Union is ready to assist families affected by Typhoon Glenda.

EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux said a team of humanitarian aid officers from the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO) in Manila is currently monitoring the situation and assessing the damage of Typhoon Glenda.

“The European Union stands ready to assist families affected by Typhoon Glenda,” Ledoux said in a statement.

The ambassador expressed solidarity with the Filipino people in the calamity.

Last month, the EU announced a 30 million-euro grant for the Philippine government in a further boost to the EU’s reconstruction assistance that began in areas hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda last year.

EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva announced during her visit to the Philippines on June 5 the 30 million-euro grant.

Georgieva said the grant is a confirmation that the EU will continue to support the recovery and reconstruction process.

EU-funded humanitarian actions have already greatly contributed to meeting the emergency needs of the survivors of the world’s most destructive typhoon ever recorded to have made landfall.

Georgieva said the road to reconstruction is still long.

The new funding came from the European Commission development budget. It is aimed at supporting post-Yolanda reconstruction under the program’s support to the implementation of the country’s universal health care framework through the availability of essential medicine, improved quality of health services, improved health insurance coverage and support to the post-typhoon reconstruction plan of the Philippine government.

Particular attention is being given to the impact of the disaster on the poor and the most vulnerable members of the local population.