Oxfam (NGO) calls for implementation of a disaster risk reduction (DRR) Plan

Tuguegarao City, Cagayan - Oxfam conducts forum calling for the implementation of a Disaster Risk Reduction Plan in the Super Typhoon LAWIN affected areas in northern Luzon, that is, in the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela and Apayao. The forum was attended by members of civil society organizations, officials from the local government units (barangay, municipal and provincial), media personalities and also members from the Cagayan Valley Bloggers Society, Inc.  The forum was held on February 15, 2017 at Hotel Roma in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan which reviewed the responses to the Super Typhoon  Lawin aftermath and called for the implementation for a Disaster Risk Reduction Plan for agriculture after seing that the farmers are most vulnerable to the cycle of indebtedness after every occurence of typhoons and calamities. 

Oxfam, a non-government agency (NGO) is an international confederation of 18 organisations working in more than 94 countries fighting poverty. The name “Oxfam” stands for the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, founded in Britain in 1942. It started when the group campaigned for food supplies to be sent through an allied naval blockade to starving women and children in enemy-occupied Greece during the Second World War. It then eveolved as a world leader in the delivery of emergency relief. It long-term development programs in vulnerable communities. It supports campaigns to fix the global food system, end unfair trade rules, and combat climate change.    

When Super Typhoon Lawin (international name: Haima) hit the Philippines in northern Luzon, the areas hit by Super Typhoon Lawin had already been suffering from the devastation of recent typhoon that just hit the area, that is, Typhoon Sarika (local name: Karen) a week earlier and the prolonged El Nino phenomenon in 2015 and early 2016.         

     

Heavily affected by Super Typhoon Lawin were the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela and Apayao which were dominantly agricultural and among the Philippines' top producer of corn and rice. It devastated the livelihood of farmers and were forced to indebtedness, food shortage and prolonged exposure to the elements as their houses were blown away.   

      

In addressing these situations Oxfam in the Philippines initiated a humanitarian response in the provinces of Cagayan, Apayao and Isabela with its partner NGOs: (1) People’s Disaster Risk Reduction Network (PDRRN) for the province of Cagayan; (2) Citizen’s Disaster Response Centre (CDRC) for the province of Apayao; and (3) Center for Emergency Aid and Rehabilitation (CONCERN) for the province of Isabela.   

    

Oxfam’s response helped more than 2,000 farmers by providing financial assistance for livelihood projects and other immediate household needs. About 300 women severely affected by the super typhoon were given access to additional cash for food and other special needs related to their sexual and reproductive health rights. The NGOs under Oxfam also worked closely with the national and local government units in providing support to meet international humanitarian standards and to uphold the rights of the most vulnerable. /cds