EU humanitarian aid chief revisits Tacloban

TACLOBAN CITY , Philippines   â€“ With the increasing frequency and intensity of disasters due to climate change, the European Union’s humanitarian aid chief is calling on Filipinos to build a “culture of preparedness and prevention,” reminding them that rebuilding more resilient communities is an obligation to children.

EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Kristalina Georgieva returned to Tacloban on Wednesday, seven months after Super Typhoon Yolanda devastated the city and other parts of the Visayas.

Georgieva expressed admiration for the resilience of typhoon victims and their ability to restore a sense of normal life in so short a time. She was impressed to see Yolanda survivors opening businesses, repairing their houses and finding ways to bring their children to laugh and play again.

Despite the improvements, EU’s humanitarian aid chief said Filipinos should prepare for stronger typhoons and more devastating disasters as nature has become harsher than it was in past years.

“The frequency of disasters has increased five times and the intensity has increased multiple times, so not only they come more often but they are much more devastating, and that means that building this culture of preparedness and prevention is paramount to live with nature that is harsher than some decades ago,” Georgieva told The STAR.

She stressed that Typhoon Yolanda calls for the “changing of mindset and recognizing that no more can we live with disregard to disasters because we have to factor it in all decisions we make as individuals, as communities, as businesses and as countries.”

Filipinos, she said, should think and prepare for the “unthinkable” and to “work more on being very fast in helping each other.”

“It’s our obligation to our children to rebuild our communities more resilient,” she added.

Georgieva noted that the new shiny roofs of houses that she saw during her visit in Tacloban and in Tanauan bore a message that the people have taken a decisive action to step up.

Georgieva attended a meeting with the mayors of Leyte province at the Tanauan Municipal Hall.

She also visited children traumatized by Typhoon Yolanda who are being helped at the Child Friendly Spaces in Barangay Sirab in Tanauan. Funded by the European Commission, the CFS was set up to help restore children’s sense of safety, structure and normalcy amidst the overwhelming impact of the calamity.

“The children there were very traumatized. They wouldn’t sing. They would be shy and they wouldn’t want to talk. And what I saw now these children are singing with me a Bulgarian song and they immediately got into it. That’s the difference of this kind of space for psychological recovery,” Georgieva said.

As the need for assistance in Yolanda-hit areas remains, Georgieva announced on Thursday that the EU would give a 30-million euro (P1.8 billion) grant to the Philippine government.

The grant, she said, is a confirmation that the EU would continue to support the recovery and reconstruction process.

The new funding comes from the European Commission’s development budget. It aims to support the post-Yolanda 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.

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

Georgieva, however, noted that natural disasters also come against the backdrop of more frequent wars and conflicts, “and that puts enormous pressure on humanitarian aid budgets.”

“Every year we increased the funding we get from European people for humanitarian aid but there are limits how far you can go,” she said. “And so this is why we are committed to use a portion of our humanitarian budget to fund preparedness and prevention activities, so we can reduce the humanitarian cost for the future.”

In 2013, the European Commission humanitarian budget was 1.3 billion euros ($1.7 billion) and 20 percent of the humanitarian aid was directed to building resilience to the recurrent and severe shocks.

“When we think of the future, when the needs are growing but money is not, obviously we should be investing in prevention so the impact is lower and targeting the most vulnerable and acting early. The earlier we act, the lower is the cost of helping people,” Georgieva said.