PHILIPPINES / DEBRIS REMOVAL

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) began debris removal projects by providing cash-for-work to villagers hit hard by typhoon Haiyan. Local communities started clearing rubble and medical waste, earning much needed income to get back on track after the destruction from the typhoon, while also easing access routes for humanitarian supplies. UNDP

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:00
• Production Date: 26 November 2013
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME - UNDP
• Subject Topical: EMPLOYMENT; DISASTER PREVENTION; DISASTER PREPAREDNESS; DISASTER RELIEF; ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCIES
• Geographic Subject: PHILIPPINES
• MAMS Id: U131126b

Description

STORY: PHILIPPINES / DEBRIS REMOVAL
TRT: 2.00
SOURCE: UNDP
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 25 NOVEMBER, 2013, TACLOBAN, PHILIPPINES

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, destruction
2. Med shot, destroyed house
3. Wide shot, debris removal by bulldozer
4. Med shot, a man collecting debris
5. Wide shot, street view
6. SOUNDBITE (English), Haoliang Xu, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific:
“We are already starting the early recovery activities, so that we can for example clear the rubble, clear the debris, so that we can pave the way for economic activities to recover.”
7. Med shot, UNDP team
8. Med shot, workers fixing electric pole
9. Wide shot, workers fixing electric pole
10. SOUNDBITE (English), Haoliang Xu, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific:
“We have now set up a team locally. We have recruited over one hundred workers to start the debris removal project.”
11. Wide shot, UNDP officer talking to civilians
12. Close up, man signing in
13. Close up, man signing in
14. Close up, paper with the work plan
15. Various shots, debris removal

Storyline

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) began debris removal projects by providing cash-for-work to villagers hit hard by typhoon Haiyan. Local communities started clearing rubble and medical waste, earning much needed income to get back on track after the destruction from the typhoon, while also easing access routes for humanitarian supplies.

“The debris removal is an important part of the relief operation as streets without rubble are a precondition for aid distribution,” said Haoliang Xu, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific during his visit to the storm ravaged city of Tacloban.

Over the past weekend, an initial 180 men and women started removing rubble and medical waste in two hospitals, two schools and streets in three severely damaged neighborhoods (barangays) in Tacloban and in Palo through the UNDP organized cash-for-work programme. They received basic equipment and tools such as generators, shovels, and wheelbarrows to begin the early recovery process. With the assistance of the Australian aid agency, AusAID, 50 workers per day receive vaccinations against tetanus.

“In addition to contributing to the humanitarian effort, the debris removal is also a critical component of economic recovery,” added Haoliang Xu. “We’re going to create 200,000 temporary jobs in debris removal in the most affected municipalities over the next six months.”

The benefits of debris removal cash-for-work programme include cleared roads that will allow easier access for humanitarian aid to reach isolated communities, cash-for-work employees selected in cooperation with local authorities and community leaders that will bring income to 200,000 households and payments to workers that will inject needed cash into the local economy. Also, removing the rubble and properly disposing waste will reduce the risk of diseases.

The debris removal and waste management are part of a US$ 20 million early recovery plan which has building resilience of these communities at its core. The programmes under the plan will help, among other things, rehabilitate local businesses, restore community infrastructure such as access roads and town (barangay) halls, and will contribute to restarting the provision of services of the local governments.

“While meeting the immediate needs of the families who lost everything is of utmost importance right now, we must also work with communities to recover their lives and livelihoods, and build in resilience to withstand future super storms,” added Haoliang Xu. “It is not just a matter of building back better, it is also a matter of building back sustainable.”

The funding for the new initiative so far comes from Japan, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, and UNDP.
To meet the urgent needs of the devastated communities, UNDP is seeking another US$ 10 million for recovery through the Typhoon Haiyan Action Plan launched on 13 November 2013 in Manila.