Source: UN Children's Fund
Country: Philippines
Highlights
- UNICEF and partners continue to meet on-going humanitarian needs, respond to small, localised emergencies and to prepare for the impact of the upcoming Typhoon season. UNICEF and partners have reached more adults and children in the first half of 2016 than planned for providing access to safe water, learning materials, safe spaces for learning, Vitamin A supplementation and deworming. Reports of Grave Child Rights Violations have been identified, verified and responded to.
- While funds available to the Philippine Country Office show a balance to the UNICEF Appeal, it should be noted that the majority of these funds are already committed against final activities under UNICEF’s Typhoon Haiyan recovery efforts and are not available for use in current humanitarian action.
- The Government is taking more independent responsibility for leading and responding to humanitarian needs, and the humanitarian community is being encouraged to invest in building national systems and capacities for humanitarian preparedness, response and resilience.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Large parts of Mindanao remained unstable in the first half of 2016 with more than 142,854 people displaced during this period. Causes of displacement have included conflict, chronic insecurity in the Sulu Archipelago and clan feuding. The recruitment of children by armed groups and the use of child soldiers is of particular concern. The recent El Niño episode was one of the strongest on record, threatening food security, sustainable agriculture and the availability of clean drinking water. In the coming months, the country is bracing itself for the onset of the rainy season, aggravated by La Niña.