Typhoon Ondoy

On Sep. 26, 2009, Typhoon Ondoy (international codename: Ketsana), smashed into Metro Manila and 25 surrounding provinces, forcing Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to declare a state of calamity in all of these areas. Typhoon Ondoy dumped a month's worth of rain on the capital and the outlying provinces in just over 6 hours. To put things into perspective, Typhoon Ondoy brought 455 milimeters of rain in 24 hours, while Hurricane Katrina brought 250.

Stranded residents in Cainta, Rizal. Photo from the Washington Post

As of today, the typhoon has claimed 277 lives in the Philippines. 2.5 million are affected, and 700,000 people have been forced into overcrowded, under-supplied evacuation centers. Even five days after Ondoy's arrival, many parts of the Philippines still remain underwater. Commuting and transportation of relief goods are made difficult to impossible due to flooded and muddied roads and stalled cars blocking the way. To make matters worst, a second typhoon is on its way to the northern provinces of the Philippines, provinces still reeling from the effects of Ondoy. A preemptive evacuation has been called for, which means more refugees seeking shelter from harried government agencies.

Typhoon victims reach out for donations at a relief center in the badly hit Marikina City, Metro Manila. Photo from the Washington Post

Thankfully, the world has not left the Filipino people to suffer on their own. The international community has been quick to respond with millions of dollars of aid in cash, relief goods and technical assistance. International groups have mobilized operations in the Philippines, responding to the Philippine government's appeal for help.

AAI, along with partner organizations World Vision and AmeriCares, donated a shipment of more than 450,000 water purification sachets, each capable of purifying 10 liters of contaminated water. The shipment was delivered to the relief center at the Malacacanang Presidential Palace on Sep. 30, 2009. AAI and its partners remain involved in humanitarian relief operations in Metro Manila and the outlying provinces, including donations of high priority medicines to relief centers.

Boxes of water purifiers from AAI and its partners are unpacked for repackaging at the Malacanang relief center.

Though the storm has passed, the fight for the lives and homes of the millions of Filipinos affected is not over. Evacuees, particularly children, are vulnerable to diseases such as dengue fever, leptospirosis, and cholera. Medical equipment has been destroyed, leaving patients with chronic conditions at the mercy of their illnesses. There still exists a desperate need for clean water. The Philippine National Red Cross is the main aid agency working in the area, and AAI is continuing its programs there, as well as existing ones in southern Philippines.

We can all do our part.

WFP Chief Warns Of Growing Crisis For World's Hungry

WFP Chief Warns Of Growing Crisis For World's Hungry

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WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran released this statement in London.

LONDON - In the week that marks the first anniversary of the global financial crisis, there are more hungry people in the world and less food aid than ever before. For the world’s most vulnerable, the perfect storm is hitting with a vengeance.

The double whammy of the financial crisis and the still record high food prices around the world is delivering a devastating blow. Throw in a storm, a drought and a conflict and you have a recipe for disaster.

WFP’s budget to feed 108 million people in 74 countries this year is US$6.7 billion. But today, we have just US$2.6 billion. Donors have been extremely generous, but the fact is that the cost of food is still high, needs have gone up and this requires the world to step up to the plate in a bigger way.

We are making an urgent plea to the world that as the green shoots of economic recovery are appearing, we do not forget those who are most in need, and who have been hit hardest by this crisis.

Today in the United States and much of Europe, more people are relying on government safety nets for food and support than perhaps ever before, but for 80 per cent of the world, there is perhaps no safety net.

We urgently need an additional US$3 billion to meet those needs, which is less than 0.01 per cent of what was put on the table to stabilise the world financially. We think this is critical for the world’s peace and stability.

At our current funding levels, we will – in October – have to cut our services throughout the world, including to half of those we are trying to reach in Kenya. We will be reaching one-fifth of those we have been targeting due to the impact of high food prices in Bangladesh. In Somalia we will have to cut rations by half. Around the world, there are many more examples like this.

Dambisa Moyo answers why aid is not working

Our organization Asia America Initiative has found that the greatest impediment to developing rule of law, social justice and economic development is the unregulated free flow of foreign aid into undeveloped parts for the world. The most significant case is Africa. We are highlighting the controversial but profoundly accurate economic observations of Dambisa Moyo. She emphasizes that over the past fifty years more than $1 trillion has been donated to Africa (while possibly at least that amount of African natural resources has been plundered by international governmental and private industries) with an end result of increased poverty, hunger and chaos.

For a better understanding of why aid failed to uplift Africans and an alternative road map for development in Africa, follow her book Dead Aid.

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Mismanagement of foreign aid in Bangladesh