24 February 2014 – The Philippines was invited to share its experience on the national and international response to Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) Advisory Board Annual Meeting held on February 11 in Geneva.

Executive Director Eduardo del Rosario of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, (NDRRMC) narrated the government’s response actions, including how it established an emergency communication facility with the Armed Forces of the Philippines Joint Response Teams, ASEAN, Office of Civil Defense (OCD), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN/OCHA), and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) teams 24 hours after Typhoon Yolanda made landfall. He highlighted that UN/OCHA/UNDAC provided the first international support and communications equipment to OCD and NDRRMC.

He also stressed UN/OCHA/UNDAC/HCT’s sharing of resources and expertise that contributed immensely to the overall response efforts thereby ensuring that humanitarian requirements and needs were met.

Undersecretary Del Rosario thanked the members present for their support, saying “The Philippine Government wishes to express our deepest gratitude to the Officials and Staff of the UNHCTs, UNOCHA and UNDAC for their professionalism, selflessness and untiring support to the Filipino people.”

UN Resident Coordinator Luiza Carvalho complemented the Philippines’ presentation by sharing how her team provided support to the overall humanitarian operations.

The UNDAC team is designed to assist the UN and Governments of a disaster-affected country in meeting international needs for early and qualified information during the first phase of a sudden-onset emergency. It has 230 national emergency managers from more than 80 participating countries, with staff from OCHA, international and regional organizations including UN agencies. END