It's been three months since Typhoon Haiyan ripped through the Philippines, killing over 8000 people and destroying the lives and livelihoods of countless more. MSF has been working tirelessly to help the Philippine people get back on their feet by implementing healthcare projects throughout the country and ensuring that even those in the most isolated places receive the help they so desperately need.
Three months after Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines, affecting 16 million people, emergency teams from Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) report that although the relief effort is well underway, the recovery will take a lot longer.
“The waste which filled the streets directly after the typhoon is now nearly all cleared away,” says Foura Sassou Madi, Head of Misson in Tacloban where MSF is running an inflatable hospital.
“Electricity and water are available, shops, businesses and schools are open. Some homes are being rebuilt and temporary shelters are being created for those who were made homeless by the typhoon.”
“Though people are trying to get back to normal, they are starting to realise that normal is just not there anymore,” explains Alexander Buchmann, emergency coordinator in Guiuan where MSF is running a 60-bed tent hospital.
“In Guiuan, there isn’t anybody who wasn’t affected by the typhoon. People lost their homes, their jobs, their loved ones – these scars will take a long time to heal.”
