The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Three weeks after super Typhoon Odette devastated a huge swathe of the Philippines, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warned of a severe nutrition and food crisis in hard-hit communities if immediate food needs are not met over the coming six months.
“The needs are increasing every day, so from the time that the humanitarian needs and priorities were started that was launched on December 24, the needs have gone from 2 million people affected of up to 7 million people.”, said Brenda Barton, WFP’s Country Director for the Philippines at a press briefing at the United Nations in Geneva. She added that “there are still many many areas that we have not been able to reach, many areas without telecoms, still today without electricity. I think 18 municipalities still don’t have water, and ,of course, we are seeing incidents with diarrhea”.
Food security and malnutrition rates before typhoon Odette hit the Philippines were already high in areas like Caraga region where 53 percent of families were unable to afford a nutritious diet while childhood stunting was 36 percent.
WFP requires USD 25,8 million to provide food assistance to 250,000 typhoon survivors. Of this, USD 20.8 million is needed for food and cash transfers over the coming 6 months. Three weeks into the crisis, WFP so far has only received USD 4.7 million.
“We are really seeing a combination of factors on the ground that are of grave concern”, said WFP’s Brenda Barton. “The Philippines is already a country that has had stagnant and high levels of poverty and malnutrition in the particular area that was hit”. Ms Barton added that “one of the islands was a very famous tourist area, famous for surfing, people came from all over the world. In those areas 90 to 95 % of the houses has been destroyed”.
Typhoon Odette was the strongest typhoon that hit the Philippine archipelago in 2021. Notwithstanding its relatively low death toll, Typhoon Odette (known internationally as Rai), had been devastating. It had made landfall nine times over the course of two days in mid-December in an area the size of Austria.
“It started as a tropical storm and it quickly evolved into a super typhoon and it just ripped across an area that is enormous just really erasing things to the ground, houses to the ground”, Ms Barton recalled. “The area that I saw there was no building that was untouched, no house without a roof. All houses were without roofs and it was heartbreaking because it was on Christmas eve and the Filipino community comes together and celebrates Christmas.”
The situation is worsening due to rains and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have continued rains, we have communities that cannot go into their houses, they are living in evacuation centers and Covid, just like in other parts of the world, is now of course starting to rip through the Philippines with its highly dense population”, said Ms Barton.
-ends-
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations flags flying
- SOUNDBITE (English): Brenda Barton, Country Director WFP Philippines: “The needs are increasing every day, so from the time that the humanitarian needs and priority were started that was launched on December 24, the needs have gone from 2 million people affected of up to 7 million people. There are still many many areas that we have not been able to reach, many areas without telecoms, still today without electricity. I think 18 municipalities still don’t have water, and of course we are seeing incidents with diarrhea”.
- Exterior medium shot, United Nations in Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (English): Brenda Barton, Country Director WFP Philippines: “We are really seeing a combination of factors on the ground that are of grave concern. The Philippines is already a country that has had stagnant and high levels of poverty and malnutrition in the particular area that was hit. One of the islands was a very famous tourist area, famous for surfing, people came from all over the world. In those areas 90 to 95 % of the houses has been destroyed”.
- Wide shot, UN flag alley with “Broken chair” at the Place des Nations
- SOUNDBITE (English): Brenda Barton, Country Director WFP Philippines: “It started as a tropical storm and it quickly evolved into a super typhoon and it just ripped across an area that is enormous just really erasing things to the ground, houses to the ground. The area that I saw there was no building that was untouched, no house without a roof. All houses were without roofs and it was heartbreaking because it was on Christmas eve and the Filipino community comes together and celebrates Christmas.”
- Exterior medium shot, United Nations in Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (English): Brenda Barton, Country Director WFP Philippines: “We have continued rains, we have communities that cannot go into their houses, they are living in evacuation centers and Covid, just like in other parts of the world, is now - of course - starting to rip through the Philippines with its highly dense population.”
- Wide shot, flag alley with United Nations in background
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the UN Human Rights Office have today released a report detailing the evolution of violent gang incidents beyond the capital Port-au-Prince since October 2024 up to June 2025, and the resulting loss of life and mass displacement.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OHCHR
Gaza: ‘Unacceptable’ choice between getting shot or getting fed – UN humanitarians
Following the deaths of several children in an Israeli strike on Palestinians waiting in line for nutritional supplements in central Gaza on Thursday, UN humanitarians have once again condemned the killings of people at aid distribution sites in the enclave.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the United Nations bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights made the following comments on the recent violence in Kenya.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITC
US tariffs uncertainty hurts world economy, with poorest countries hit hardest – top UN economist
A new US decision to further delay the end of a 90-day pause on tariffs is bad for business, a top UN economist said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OHCHR
Gaza aid site horror continues as more starving people shot trying to get food
Amid intensifying hopes for a new Gaza ceasefire, UN humanitarians confirmed disturbing details on Friday of continued killings and injuries of Palestinians desperately seeking food at aid sites.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
A clearer picture of needs across Iran is beginning to emerge after the conflict this month with Israel, which left hundreds dead, several hospitals hit and a spike in Afghan refugees returning home, the UN’s top official in Tehran said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO
The blistering early-summer heatwave that’s brought life-threatening temperatures across much of the northern hemisphere is a worrying sign of things to come, UN weather experts said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Human Rights Council annual panel on adverse impacts of climate change.
1
1
2
Edited News | WHO
The first meagre midweek delivery of urgently needed medical goods to enter Gaza in months will provide scant relief to the enclave’s people, who continue to be shot and killed as they search for food, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
2
1
2
Statements , Edited News | HRC
Enhanced interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s report on Myanmar presented by Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and oral update by Thomas Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
The conflict-impacted people of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) urgently need much more international assistance than they are getting today, the UN’s top aid official said on Thursday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNOG
Violence in Myanmar is spiralling as the military junta increases its attacks on monasteries, schools and camps sheltering people uprooted by the civil war, a top independent human rights investigator warned on Wednesday.