UNICEF, EU empower Lanao del Sur communities for disaster resilience

MARAWI CITY (PIA) — UNICEF, in partnership with the European Union, is boosting the resilience of communities in Lanao del Sur through a three-year project aimed at building capacity and delivering essential services.

Sitti Vilma Quin, UNICEF Mindanao Field Office Emergency Focal and Child Protection Officer, emphasized the project’s focus on disaster preparedness and response during the Lanao del Sur Disaster Resilience Summit held on July 22-23, 2024.

“We believe that the strength of the community lies in its ability to anticipate disasters, to prepare for disasters and emergencies, to respond, and more importantly, to recover from any forms of emergencies,” she said.

Through a series of community dialogues and capacity-building activities, the project has reached over 2,500 individuals, including children, adolescents, women, and local government officials.

The project has conducted emergency preparedness and response training for 17 municipalities, with plans to reach the remaining towns of Lanao del Sur by the end of the year.

Additionally, UNICEF will work with local government units in the province to enhance and update their disaster risk reduction and management plans.

UNICEF remains committed to supporting the resiliency and building the capacity of the province in terms of delivering essential services and maintaining its capacity and strength to prepare and respond to disasters,” Quin added.  (APB/PIA-10 Lanao del Sur) 

0

UNICEF pursues aid for post-conflict recovery of Marawi, Lanao Sur

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur (PIA)--The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) continues to stand with the city here and the province of Lanao del Sur as these localities keep on journeying through its post-conflict recovery stage.

As another year is about to be welcomed, the international non-government organization alongside the European Union committed to push through its project to successfully build community resilience and deliver essential services to target communities.

UNICEF Mindanao Field Office Chief Radoslaw Rhezak shared that they have already been living out their mission for almost three years wherein a partnership with the local government units was established, and the population of internally displaced persons (IDPs) was focused and supported on acquiring new skills, and having access to better quality services.

“UNICEF with the European Union starts its programs to support capacities in delivering social services for women, children, and adolescents in the province,” he said.

Accordingly, the project bears four components, to wit, health, education, protection of children from violence, abuse and exploitation, and social protection and emergency preparedness.

Such components aim to bring help to 680,000 children and 200,000 parents in Marawi, 39 municipalities in Lanao del Sur province, and some communities that hosted IDPs, such as two municipalities each in Lanao del Norte and Bukidnon provinces.

In their most recent report, Rhezak detailed that they have already extended maternal and neonatal aid, as well as nutrition, water and sanitation services for all children and women.

He further stated that they also provided efforts for early childhood and basic education, child protection or social welfare system, and child-friendly provincial and municipal planning on investments for children’s rights and reduced disaster risks.

Presenting their accomplishments, Rhezak hoped that they could still achieve more in the next year to come.  

“We hope that we can push further the rebuilding process in Lanao del Sur… We hope that your hospitality will allow us to move forward to a great partnership for us to deliver more services to the vulnerable groups in the province,” he said. (CRG/PIA-10/Lanao del Sur)

0