Philippines: first load of aid made available by Italian foreign ministry arrives – INTERSOS-AGIRE ready to distribute

Bonino: “€1.1 million euro in private donations”

Through “private initiatives” Italy has raised 1.1 million euro in aid for the Philippines, a sum that will be added to the funds the government has already made available for distribution by AGIRE and INTERSOS.

This was the statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Emma Bonino, who spoke in Milan at the Science for Peace world conference. The minister also underscored the Italian Postal Service initiative aimed at annulling fees for remittances that will “allow the Philippine community to save over €3 million”.

INTERSOS and AGIRE unload humanitarian aid from Italy on the Island of Cebu

The INTERSOS emergency team, in collaboration with the Italian rapid response agency AGIRE and the Italian Red Cross, unloaded the aid arriving from Italy by air on the island of Cebu. The aid was made available by the emergency office of the Italian Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with UNHRD.

The operations were also made possible by the generous collaboration of Italian citizens residing in the Philippines, who have been helping INTERSOS, and by the assistance of Italian ambassador to the Philippines Massimo Roscigno, who met the plane personally.

Three INTERSOS units on Cebu and in Tacloban

Three INTERSOS units are working simultaneously in the Philippines: on the island of Cebu to unload the goods, in the north of the Island to identify remote areas that have not yet been reached by any form of aid and, finally, in the area of Tacloban, also hit very hard by typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. A fourth group is ready to leave from Italy as soon as the dispatch of other emergency items from the Brindisi depot has been arranged. A portion of this latest load has been made available by AUSER Nazionale and AUSER TOSCANA, which has been actively supporting INTERSOS for years.

Humanitarian workers experiencing logistical difficulties

A total of 13 million people have suffered physical and/or material damage as a result of the typhoon; over 2 million are homeless and only 38% have found refuge in evacuation centres. The rest of the families are living in precarious conditions since nearly 400,000 homes have been destroyed. Movement around the area is complicated at the moment, and humanitarian workers are having difficulty reaching the populations in need.

Italian aid arrives

The load of materials sent by the Italian Cooperation arrived on Cebu at 15:00 on 16 November (local time), making it possible for the INTERSOS-AGIRE workers to distribute tends, shelters, blankets and other emergency supplies, including emergency healthcare kits.

The INTERSOS team is coordinating with NGOs and local authorities and agencies to ensure a rapid and concrete response in the midst of the continuing chaos. As always, the effort is to give priority to the most vulnerable and needy, in particular children, the elderly and disabled.  

How to help

The following channels have been made available for the humanitarian assistance efforts of INTERSOS and the AGIRE network:

Toll Free: 800.132.870 (Monday through Saturday 09:00 to 19:00)

On-line: Credit Card, Paypal or PagoInConto (for Intesa Sanpaolo group) at the website www.agire.it.

Bank Transfer: BancaProssima current account “AGIRE ONLUS” no. IT79 J 03359 01600 100000060696, purpose: “Emergenza Filippine”

Postal Money Order: postal payment to account no. 85593614 or current postal account money transfer made out to “AGIRE ONLUS” – IBAN: IT 79 U 07601 03200 000085593614, Via Aniene 26/A – 00198 Roma, purpose: “Emergenza Filippine”