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UN agencies to step up assistance in wake of floods in the Philippines

UN agencies to step up assistance in wake of floods in the Philippines

Local transport on the streets of Cotabato City on the Philippine island of Mindanao after heavy rains on 19 June 2011
United Nations humanitarian agencies have been asked to provide enough food, medical supplies, latrines and other items to help up to 180,000 people hit by widespread floods on the Philippine island of Mindanao.

The Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development today formally requested the UN Country Team (UNCT) that the world body provide more support, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.

UN agencies are being asked to provide enough materials for more than 36,000 families – or roughly as many as 180,000 people – for a 10-day period.

While flood waters are now receding, heavy rains earlier this month across eastern and southern Mindanao have inundated homes and displaced nearly 400,000 people. Most of the displaced are living with host families, although some are sheltering in evacuation centres.

UN agencies, including the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme, are already assisting Philippine authorities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide relief to the displaced, and have started distributing blankets, plastic mats and tarpaulins.