ADB approves $2M grant for 'Odette' relief

THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $2 million grant to support the country's Typhoon "Odette" response.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ADB said the grant, which is under its Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund, will provide humanitarian assistance to 15,000 households, or about 75,000 people in the Visayas and Mindanao severely affected by the typhoon last December.

It will fund food vouchers to be distributed to target communities, which beneficiaries can exchange for food in selected markets.

The ADB is partnering with the United Nations World Food Program to deliver the food assistance.

The grant also includes logistics support for the food assistance delivery.

"Typhoon Odette's damage on housing, agriculture, and infrastructure amid the Covid-19 pandemic has made life more difficult for Filipinos in affected areas," said ADB Director General for Southeast Asia Ramesh Subramaniam.

"This assistance will help finance the humanitarian needs of those residents, especially people living in remote areas," Subramaniam added.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council earlier estimated the typhoon caused P24.6 billion in damage to crops, public infrastructure and private property.

The Category 5 typhoon destroyed more than 1.7 million houses in eight provinces.

In December last year, President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of calamity for a year in the six regions to accelerate the rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Source: TheManila Times