Manila, Philippines, 26 March 2024 — The International Rescue Committee (IRC), with funding from the European Union (EU), has concluded a 30-month action project called Preparedness for Protection Southeast Asia (PPSEA) to aid disaster and conflict prone countries in Southeast Asia by building their capacities to face protection risks during humanitarian emergencies. The IRC has been operating in Thailand since 1975; collaborating with local associations to prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV), which has been statistically proven to be high in countries where natural disasters are a normal occurrence. The IRC has been a registered NGO in the Philippines since 2013, where they have actively provided support for disaster preparedness and to help rebuild the lives of affected communities. After Super Typhoon Haiyan displaced 4.1 million people in November 2013, typhoons and earthquakes have continued to batter the Philippines while the increasing frequency of heavy rains in Thailand threatens the livelihoods and communities. Risks of natural and man-made disasters continue to loom large in Southeast Asia especially with climate change impact expected to affect the region.
Additionally, internal conflicts also devastate the populations of such disaster-prone countries in Southeast Asia; further exacerbating the negative effects of natural calamities such as droughts, floods, tropical storms, landslides, tsunamis, earthquakes, and typhoons. The IRC has forged connections with multiple local agencies in affected countries to facilitate response to, and prevention of, these effects in order to protect and build resilience.
Vulnerable communities - mostly women and children - continue to face severe protection risks and require consistent help through mechanisms of empowerment in order to persevere through their precarious contexts. The IRC will continue aiding their emancipation with durable action-planning and, together with local actors, will ensure their implementation to improve responsiveness to their protection needs.
Roger Cabiles, IRC Project Director for PPSEA, said:
“Southeast Asia remains one of the regions of the world most susceptible to natural disasters— further complicating the negative effects of climate change. This, in addition to regional armed conflicts such as those brought on by separatist movements in the Philippines, leads to urgent and continuing need for protection and preparedness against the high risk of humanitarian destruction and civilian struggle. With sustained effort and funding from our partnership with the EU, the International Rescue Committee is determined to frame action aimed to directly mitigate the catastrophic consequences of these disasters by preemptive measures of strengthening response and management to them before they even occur.”
The International Rescue Committee partners with the European Union to provide life-saving support to people caught in conflict and disasters around the world. Our work funded by the EU enables people to survive, recover and rebuild their lives.