EU extends P13.9-million help to Maguindanao war evacuees

From the Business Mirror (Apr 10): EU extends P13.9-million help to Maguindanao war evacuees

The European Union (EU) has provided P13.9 million to fund emergency humanitarian assistance to Maguindanao residents who were displaced from their homes following a recent escalation of violence there.

The money will enable the provision of lifesaving relief items to the most vulnerable and support the management and provision of services at evacuation and displacement sites.

The two-month emergency project will specifically focus on the most vulnerable families. It will help ensure that they have access to safe and dignified shelters, water and sanitation facilities, as well as lifesaving nonfood items, such as blankets, sleeping mats and hygiene kits.

Psychosocial support will also be provided, allowing the displaced persons to exchange with others about their traumatic experience and receive information on potential further specialized support.

Moreover, the EU is continuing its assistance to the families displaced by the fighting that took place in Zamboanga in 2013, by providing a separate P13.7-million fund on top of the assistance provided in 2013.

A year-and-a-half after the displacement took place, some 20,000 residents remain in evacuation and transitional sites, living under very difficult conditions. The EU-funded aid will also focus on the most vulnerable individuals, providing them with food, protection, livelihood support and health services until the authorities can provide a more permanent solution for the displaced.

In both cases, the assistance is being made available through the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (Echo) through its Small-Scale Response Mechanism.

The first project in Maguindanao will be implemented by a consortium composed of the International Organization for Migration and Plan International—two humanitarian actors which have a long-established presence in the Philippines.

The operation in Zamboanga will be implemented by another consortium comprising non-governmental organization Action Contre la Faim and Plan International—both already operational in the area from previous Echo funding.

The armed conflict in Central Mindanao, southern Philippines, intensified in February 2015, when fighting erupted between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in the towns of Pagalungan and Pikit. The clashes further escalated when the Armed Forces of the Philippines launched an “all-out offensive” against the BIFF troops. The fighting resulted in the displacement of over 120,000 people in the provinces of Maguindanao.

In September 2013 a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front seized hostages in Zamboanga, leading to an intervention by the military. The ensuing clashes lasted for more than two weeks and left some 45 dead and over 100, 000 people displaced in Zamboanga City.

Echo’s Small-Scale Response fund is a global mechanism that allows for rapid funding of up to P13.9 million for humanitarian aid in countries affected by natural and manmade disasters.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/eu-extends-p13-9-million-help-to-maguindanao-war-evacuees/