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Bonn, November 11th, 2013 – 9.5 million people have been affected by the severe impact of typhoon Haiyan, the United Nations estimates. The death toll rises as the damage caused by the typhoon becomes visible.
„The people lack food, drinking water, medical aid. The power grid is down. What’s most important now is gaining access to the affected areas. That means removing the debris so that we can get aid supplies to the people,“ Manuela Roßbach, Executive Director of Aktion Deutschlande Hilft (Germany’s Relief Coalition), sums up the situation. The members of the relief coalition have dispatched assessment teams in order to determine which relief measures are most urgent and how they can be administered in the most appropriate manner. Their activities focus on the provinces of Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, and Samar. An important component of their work is the cooperation with local partners. Additional relief workers from Germany will be traveling to the disaster zone in the course of this week.
Germany’s Relief Coalition (Aktion Deutschland Hilft) is a federation of German aid organizations acting in concert to provide quick and effective help in response to major disasters and emergencies abroad. In times of need, the initiators of this federation for action, each an autonomous organization in its own right, pool their knowledge and capacities, complementing one another and consolidating resources to provide the most effective help possible. During the acute phase of major disasters, Germany’s Relief Coalition makes a public appeal for donations. The existing administrative structures and capacities of the member organizations help keep costs down, making it possible to channel a maximum proportion of donated funds into direct aid. Germany’s Relief Coalition appeals to all people in Germany to unite in offering help in times of urgent need as a community of solidarity dedicated to alleviating human suffering. More Information: http://www.aktion-Deutschland-Hilft.de
