Leveraging Local Experience and Initiative

The Philippines is prone to natural disasters, the majority of which include rapid onset weather, volcanic, and earthquake-related events. Lessons learned from past disasters paint a tantalizing portrait of a preparedness road not taken. Prompted by Typhoons Ketsana and Parma in 2009, which devastated much of the northern Philippines, including the capital region, the Government of the Philippines has identified disaster risk reduction as a main priority.

Natural and man-made disasters are

leading causes of

hunger and affect all dimensions of

food security,

including economic and physical access

to food, the

availability and stability of

supplies, and

nutrition.

Strengthening the Transition from Relief to Development

WFP is strongly committed to curtailing the effects of disasters and climate change. In this way, affected persons defend their food and nutrition security rather than exclusively relying on injections of external assistance. The link between disaster risk, poverty, and food insecurity is well chronicled. In the cruel calculus of disasters, the poor are more affected than others since they lack the ability to recover from the harmful impacts of hazards. Consequently, central to WFP’s mission is supporting food security-related disaster risk reduction and management.

The Philippines ranks

third in the Alliance

Development Works

World Risk Report

(2013) global disaster

r isk hotspots due

to its exposure to

natural hazards and

impacts of climate

change.

Strengthening Food Security through Disaster Risk Reduction In times of emergencies, many people singularly associate the phrase “food security” with food aid, and to a certain extent, this association is accurate. WFP stands ready to support and augment government relief efforts in the wake of disasters; however, WFP also recognizes that any discussion on food security should substantially involve achieving a long-term reduction in people’s vulnerability to hazards.

Pooling Resources to Build Community Resilience

With generous support from the United States Agency for International Development’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA), the Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT), and private sector Yum! as well as in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Climate Change Commission (CCC), and partnership with 40 local government units, 8 local academic institutions, and 10 local non-government organizations (NGOs). WFP’s Disaster Preparedness and Response/Climate Change Adaptation (DPR/CCA) Programme is fueling risk reduction initiatives in disaster-prone provinces that bridge emergency response, recovery, and development. The DPR/CCA Programme continues to expand geographically and in scope, which now includes the 10 provinces of Cagayan Valley, Benguet, Laguna, Batangas, Sorsogon, Iloilo, Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental, Misamis Oriental, and Maguindanao.

The DPR/CCA Programme is also committed to bolstering sustainable climate change adaptation efforts. The CCA component is implemented in four highly urbanized cities of Iloilo, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao. The cities were selected based on: 1) their exposure to natural and climate-related hazards, including flood, drought, and rising sea levels in coastal areas; 2) a high level of local government commitment to taking CCA actions; and 3) local interest in building institutional capacity to implement adapation measures. This also complements efforts to grow and sustain development gains in cities of Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro, which are both part of USAID’s Cities Development Initiative (CDI), an integral component of the US-Philippines Partnership for Growth 2011-2016.

Disaster Preparedness and Response/

Climate Change Adaptation Programme

Building Resilience Against Disasters and Climate Change

WFP Global Strategic Objectives Align with the Philippines DPR/CCA Programme

DPR/CCA activities are well anchored on a host of globally developed WFP comparative advantages ranging from vulnerability analysis, emergency response and recovery, to capacity development and coordination and leadership, among others. In addition, the DPR/CCA Programme pools together the expertise of a wide variety of actors: the national and local government, non-government organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and other UN agencies.

WFP’s Mission Statement and General Regulations stipulate that WFP will “assist in the continuum from emergency relief to development by giving priority to supporting disaster prevention, preparedness, and mitigation” – three of the central elements of disaster risk reduction— thus, the DPR/CCA Programme.

WFP STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

(2014–2017 Plan) DPR PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES

Save lives and protect livelihoods in

emergencies

Building capacity of government

partners through technical emergency

response and preparedness

trainings and the provision of modest

response equipment

Support or restore food security

and nutrition and establish or

rebuild livelihoods in fragile

settings and following emergencies

Implementing high-impact, small-scale

community projects to mitigate specific

hazards and adapt to climate change

Reduce risk and enable people,

communities and countries to meet

their own food and nutrition needs

Training local government partners on

nutritionally-appropriate food and

sustenance interventions during

emergencies, especially for women

and children

Reduce undernutrition and break

the intergenerational cycle of

hunger

Strengthening the government’s

emergency management capacities,

emergency telecommunications

management, particularly in relief

goods inventory monitoring

Disaster Preparedness and Response Programme/Climate Change Adaptation Strengthening Food Security through Disaster Risk Reduction