The Canadian government announced to the Filipino public that their government will be providing an additional Cad$1.25 million (roughly P43 million) in humanitarian assistance to Mindanao under the administration of President Rody Duterte, the first-ever chief executive from the southern Philippines’ biggest island.
In a statement released to the media, the Canadian embassy said that the P43 million funding would be coursed through the Action Against Hunger (ACF) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The Canadian aid would be used largely for improving food security, health, living conditions, livelihood and emergency-preparedness in the provinces of Zamboanga and Maguindanao.
The funding for Mindanao is part of the Canadian government’s commitment of Cad$ 331.5 million in humanitarian support for the world’s most vulnerable, as recently announced by Canada’s Minister of International Development Marie-Claude Bibeau at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey.
In the Philippines, Canadian Ambassador Neil Reeder said that “Canada’s support will help meet immediate life-saving needs and address unprecedented humanitarian challenges including those in the Philippines,” Canadian Ambassador Neil Reeder said.
According to the Canadian government the new funding will help the most vulnerable in more than 32 countries worldwide which include the Philippines. It will be provided to 25 humanitarian partners, including a variety of United Nations humanitarian agencies, the Red Cross and non-governmental organizations.
Out of the Cad$1.25 million grant for the Philippines, Cad$ 500,000 will be provided to the ACF to improve food security for more than 3,000 people displaced by conflict in Zamboanga and Maguindanao. The assistance will include the provision of unconditional cash grants to meet the basic needs of those displaced, focusing on assisting pregnant and lactating women and households with children aged 6-23 months, as well as quick impact livelihood support through cash transfers and appropriate training.
Meanwhile, the remaining Cad$ 750,000 in assistance to the ICRC will provide medical care and physical rehabilitation to detainees and weapon-wounded patients through six ICRC-trained/supported health facilities.
Source: Yahoo News Singapore