MANILA, U.S. Embassy in the Philippines -- The U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is allocating an additional Php950 million ($19 million) in humanitarian assistance to help communities affected by Typhoon Odette, bringing total U.S. support for this response to more than Php1 billion ($20.2 million).
With this assistance, USAID will provide food aid; water, sanitation, and hygiene programs to help keep people healthy; and shelter assistance to meet emergency needs and help affected communities start rebuilding their homes.
“The United States is pleased to announce an additional and significant assistance of Php950 million, which brings our total amount of aid for Typhoon Odette to over Php1 billion. We stand steadfast with our longstanding friend, partner, and ally in helping support communities devastated by the typhoon,” said U.S. Embassy in the Philippines Chargé d’Affaires (CDA) ad interim Heather Variava. “This additional assistance will help deliver food and hygiene supplies, and provide life-saving support to those most in need.”
This new funding is in addition to the Php50 million ($1 million) announced earlier this week to support emergency logistics efforts to ensure aid is delivered to those in hard-to-reach areas. This assistance also builds on the Php10 million ($200,000) that USAID provided immediately after the storm for food, water, and hygiene supplies; to restore water supply services and sanitation facilities; and to support hygiene promotion activities.
To show U.S. support on behalf of the American people, CDA Variava plans to visit communities affected by Typhoon Odette and see ongoing U.S. relief activities.
USAID works year-round to help communities in the Philippines prepare for natural disasters. Through existing programs, USAID’s partners are transporting relief supplies, including enough food provided by the Philippine government to feed nearly 103,000 families. USAID partners are also helping manage evacuation shelters, deploy mobile operations vehicles to support emergency telecommunications, and provide heavy-duty plastic sheeting to meet the shelter needs of 4,800 families.
The United States will continue to partner with the Philippines to respond to natural disasters and support Filipinos in their recovery efforts. Since 2010, USAID has provided more than Php17 billion ($340 million) in disaster relief and recovery aid, and boosted the disaster risk reduction capacity of over 100 cities and municipalities in the Philippines.