Pilipinas

In the agricultural sector, we support coffee and seaweed farmers, cooperatives, traders, and decision-makers in the three remote islands of the Philippines, to contribute to peaceful, cohesive, secure, and inclusive development of agri- and aqua-culture value chains. Through a project on early warning in the event of natural disasters, we are developing a system that will provide timely and accurate flood information to responsible authorities in affected areas. Similarly, we are mapping and analyzing landslides and providing technical expertise to responsible agencies for an effective emergency response.

In line with disaster response efforts, we focus on a user-friendly system to provide accurate and timely flood information to authorities. This enables efficient dissemination of warnings to vulnerable communities. We are also involved in promoting localized humanitarian leadership and emergency response efforts, aiming to equip local frontline workers for effective response and advocacy.

Our help in Philippines since 2013

We have been working in the Philippines since 2013, when Typhoon Haiyan (also known as Yolanda) devastated Eastern Samar, one of the country's poorest provinces. Since then, we have focused on the long-term recovery of the Philippines. For example, we introduced cocoa farming and connected poor farmers with customers and suppliers without the intervention of third parties and middlemen.

In 2017, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes as a result of the Battle of Marawi, the longest urban war in the Philippines' modern history., We helped young people affected by the conflict, distributing school uniforms and providing legal counselling and psychosocial support. We also provided sub-grants to local civil society organisations and organised initiatives to empower young people towards promoting greater tolerance and respect for other religions and cultures.

We also helped in some of the poorest and most climate-challenged areas of the country, such as Northern Samar, to ensure access to renewable energy sources capable of providing electricity to households and livelihoods. This is to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities and their ability to cope with the effects of future disasters.

As a third world island nation, the Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. The 2013 typhoon remains one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded - people are still recovering from its effects today. In addition, Filipinos suffer from political and social conflict and poverty, which affects up to a fifth of the population