Sweden large donor in Typhoon relief in the Philippines but support is still needed 

It has been more than a month since Typhoon Rai (locally referred to as Typhoon Odette) hit the Philippines and with several Swedish-backed donations, Sweden has been a large donor in the support. The support is however still needed, the Embassy of Sweden in Manila informs. 

Typhoon Rai which hit the country on 16 December, caused widespread damage to buildings affecting livelihoods, agriculture, and infrastructure. It also brought severe flooding and rain-induced landslides to large parts of the areas in its way and communication, power lines, and water supply were widely disrupted.

The Embassy of Sweden in Manila shares that Sweden is a key donor to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) which together with the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) donated USD 820,300 as a first response to Typhoon Rai in December.

In addition, the Swedish Red Cross also released USD 219,000 of funding and seconded the Operational Field Manager for the relief effort.

Moreover, another Swedish organization, the H&M Foundation also donated $100,000 to the Philippine Red Cross to support the people affected by Typhoon Rai.

At the time it was estimated that over 1.8 million people had been affected by the typhoon and close to 440,000 were displaced but the Embassy of Sweden in Manila states that the need for emergency food, shelter, and other aid is still immense now over four weeks after.

About Gregers Møller

Editor-in-Chief • ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd. • Bangkok, Thailand

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