$19.7 Million in Aid to the Philippines

In the months since Typhoon Haiyan struck, AmeriCares has provided more than $19.7 million in aid to help meet the immediate needs of survivors and restore primary health care.

Our Haiyan response team is now working with partners to restore and expand health services including the rebuilding and rehabilitation of dozens of damaged health facilities in some of the hardest hit areas, while continuing to distribute emergency aid and coordinate relief deliveries.

A new shipment totaling $1.3 million in medical aid was sent on April 11, containing antibiotics, antihistamines, pain relievers, and wound care supplies, as well as medications to treat diabetes and heart disease. The deliveries will help restock hospitals and health clinics in areas where the health system has been disrupted. In addition to aid shipments and health facility restoration, we are working with a partner to expand their mental health and psychosocial services programming for survivors on one of the islands most affected by the storm.

“The restoration of health clinics, provision of psychosocial services, and shipments of medicines and medical supplies will help address the needs of disaster survivors facing elevated health risks due to loss of homes, loss of livelihoods, and lack of access to health care in the aftermath of the storm,” said AmeriCares Vice President of Emergency Response Garrett Ingoglia.

Photo by Matthew McDermott.

Our teams have been active throughout the islands of Cebu, Samar, Leyte, and Panay, working with partners to coordinate aid deliveries to communities where access to health care has been severely hampered. Our response to date includes:

Our Response:

$18.6 million in medical aid

including nearly 1 million course treatments of medicines

$1.1 million in project support

to restore and rehabilitate 67 damaged health facilities and expand health care services

Medical aid shipments: A total of $18.6 million in medicines and supplies has been shipped from our warehouses in the United States and Amsterdam, including $2 million in medical aid provided to volunteer health care teams through our Medical Outreach Program. To date we have provided nearly 1 million course treatments of medicine. Medicines and supplies were provided to the Biliran Provincial Hospital, Tacloban Department of Health, RTR Hospita and Divine Word Hospital in Tacloban, Kananga Hospital in Leyte, and Benito Ebuen Airbase Hospital in Cebu, among many other health care facilities.

Medical team support: supporting the NYC Medics and International Medical Corps teams with medicines and supplies. The teams have provided emergency medical care to survivors in hard-to-reach Guiuan, isolated Homonhon Island and San Antonio, Samar.

Project Support: $1.1 million in funding to restore and rehabilitate 67 damaged health facilities, expand health care services in Capiz, provide mental health training in Leyte and Capiz, and purchase and distribute food, water, and relief supplies to displaced families at evacuation centers in hard-hit Samar and Cebu. We’ve been working side by side with partner International Organization for Migration to restore health services in Capiz: Five facilities in Capiz are complete, more than 20 in Leyte and Cebo are now underway.

The monstrous typhoon, known locally as Yolanda dealt a massive blow to the disaster-prone island nation on November 8, 2013 and is considered one of the strongest – if not the strongest – storm on record.

Since 1985, AmeriCares has delivered more than $240 million in humanitarian aid to the Philippines, including relief supplies for survivors of October’s Bohol earthquake. Other recent emergency responses include Typhoon Bopha in 2012, Typhoon Washi in 2011, back-to-back typhoons in 2009 and Typhoon Frank in 2008.

A Survival Story in the Midst of Devastation

As AmeriCares emergency response team works in towns and cities of the Philippines devastated by Typhoon Yolanda, individual stories unfold of courage and perseverance in the face of great loss. On the eastern coast, the town of Guiuan was completely destroyed. Local resident, Rafino tells us about the aftermath of the storm and the difficulties he is facing going forward.
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Bringing Health and Healing to the Philippines

On November 20, we traveled with a NYC Medics team to hard-hit Guiuan, providing medicines and supplies to support their mobile medical clinic. In one 5-hour period, the team treated 161 patients. “AmeriCares has significantly increased our ability to provide care here,” explained Robert Bristow, Medical Director for NYC Medics.
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