U.S., International Community Bolster Humanitarian Response To Philippines

News outlets on Tuesday continue their coverage of the humanitarian response to Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines on Friday. “The United States said Monday it is fully committed to helping the Philippines recover from one of the most powerful typhoons on record, and is providing $20 million in immediate aid,” the Associated Press reports (11/12). According to a statement from USAID, “$10 million will go to food assistance, and another $10 million will go to other emergency supplies,” ABC News’ “The Note” blog states (Good, 11/11). “The United Nations humanitarian affairs office [on Monday] released an initial $25 million from the world body’s emergency fund in quick response to the devastation caused by the super typhoon,” the U.N. News Centre writes (11/11).

“The [WHO] is supporting the Philippines Department of Health in strengthening its early warning alert and response network to watch for disease outbreaks and other public health threats related to food scarcity, water contamination and other environmental hazards,” CNN writes (Christensen, 11/11). “In the aftermath of the typhoon, reaching the affected areas and people has proven to be a sizeable logistical challenge,” the U.N. health agency notes in a news release, adding, “The true extent of the death and destruction has yet to be quantified” (11/11). Reuters provides a “non-exhaustive list of donations and efforts from different countries and organizations, supplementing supplies being flown in from elsewhere in the Philippines” (11/12). ABC News’ “World” blog provides information about how readers can contribute to relief efforts (Hunter, 11/11).

Additional coverage is available from the ABC News’ “World News,” Associated Press, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Hill’s “Global Affairs” blog, Huffington Post’s “Impact” blog, IRIN, NBC News’ “World News,” PBS NewsHour, the State Department’s “Dipnote” blog, The Telegraph, UNICEF, a USAID fact sheet, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and a separate WHO press release.

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.