Save the Children Philippines raised the need to ensure the health and protection of children in overcrowded evacuation centers a week after Typhoon “Ompong” hit Northern Luzon provinces.
Albert Muyot, the group’s chief executive officer, said thousands of children are missing out on school and are forced to stay in cramped evacuation centers.
He said the needs of children should be of utmost priority in all the humanitarian efforts because they are the most vulnerable during emergencies.
“Children bear the brunt of every disaster,” Muyot said.
The group has dispatched three humanitarian teams to Cagayan provinces and Tuguegarao to assess the situation and distribute emergency kits to help families attend to basic needs for food, health, and hygiene.
The Department of Education earlier said around 15 million students were affected by Typhoon Ompong.
DepEd data also showed that a total of 1,743 classrooms were used as evacuation centers in 482 schools in the Cordilleras as well as in Regions 1 and 2.
Another humanitarian team will be dispatched to Benguet to facilitate the assessment of the situation of displaced families, mostly children and lactating mothers affected by landslides.
Muyot said the team will also look at psychosocial interventions such as reuniting displaced children with their parents.