DSWD, WFP to give $6-m in cash assistance for Haiyan survivors

Rappler.com

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The cash assistance will be on top of existing Pantawid Pamilya conditional cash transfer program

MORE HELP. More than a month after Typhoon Yolanda, humanitarian aid continues to pour in for the survivors in the affected areas. Photo by Dennis Sabangan/EPA

MANILA, Philippines – In order to combat food insecurity, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)  and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) signed a memorandum of understanding on December 11, Wednesday, to provide P260 million (US$6 million)  in cash assistance to 500,000 people living in the 50 municipalities of Leyte and Samar affected by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). (Read: WFP: Yolanda survivors need nutritious food)

In addition to the Pantawid Pamilya cash grants for the coming months of December and January, each identified household will receive an additional emergency cash grant of P1,300.

Social welfare secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said that the partnership with WFP is proof that conditional cash transfer programs provide an avenue for humanitarian aid to reach its intended benficiaries especially during times of advsersity. 

On top of the cash assistance, beneficiaries will also be receiving a one-month supply of rice. 

“The local economy plays an important role in this recovery and in order to put it back on track, the people need money that they can use to purchase goods – goods that they need in order to survive,” Secretary Soliman said.

Versatility and scale

To date, WFP has already distributed nearly 6,000 MT of rice (1 MT=1000 kg), 190 MT of high energy biscuits, and 2 MT of nutritional products for children to around 3 million people.  The effort was made possible through partnerships with DSWD and other non-government organizations. (READ: Nearly 50,000 victims in Tacloban receive food aid)

After conducting a post-assessment of Typhoon Yolanda, WFP selected the beneficiaries of the cash assistance from the list of vulnerable families already identified by the Pantawid Pamilya program. 

According to WFP Philippines Country Director and Representative Praveen Agrawal, WFP response in the aftermath of Yolanda is grounded on the principles of versailty, scale and parternship.

“We need to provide the right kind of assistance as circumstance change, and at this point in time, our assessments indicate that a combination of cash support and in-kind rice is an effective approach,” Agrawal said.

Pantawid Pamilya is a human development program of the Philippine national government that invests in the health and education of poor households primarily of children aged 0-14. (READ: Pantawid program working well?)

Meanwhile, the budget department announced earlier that families whose houses have been damaged by Typhoon Yolanda will be receiving P5,000-worth of cash assistance for housing. (READ: Yolanda families to get P5,000 cash assistance) – Rappler.com

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