GENEVA, May 6 (PNA/Xinhua) — The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (IRCR) on Monday launched a long-term recovery plan in the Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) stricken region of the Philippines.
Six months after Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Visayas region of the Philippines, ICRC noted as many as 16 million people were affected by Typhoon Haiyan, with thousands losing family members, homes and incomes.
The long term plan, scheduled to run over the next three years, pledged to help 775,000 of the most vulnerable people to recover and improve their resilience to future disasters.
Philippines Red Cross Chair Richard Gordon said the recovery work would focus on restoring shelter, livelihoods and access to health care, to help affected communities overcome the hardships of the past six months and become self-reliant again.
Meanwhile, the recovery plan will enhance the Philippine Red Cross’ capacity to respond to future disasters through targeted skills training for volunteers and strengthening expertise in disaster management and disaster risk reduction.
So far, ICRC has collectively raised 315 million Swiss Francs (357 million U.S. dollars) over the Typhoon Haiyan Emergency appeals. (Philippine News Agency/Xinhua)
