Update | UN urges more aid for Philippine typhoon recovery

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the international community Sunday to ramp up aid for the Philippines’ typhoon reconstruction, saying “we must not allow this to be another forgotten crisis.”

Ban met with key ambassadors stationed in Manila at the end of his three-day visit and urged donor countries to provide more aid in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the central Philippines on Nov. 8, killing at least 6,100 people and leaving nearly 1,800 others missing. Entire villages were flattened by Haiyan’s ferocious winds and the tsunami-like storm surge that damaged or swept away more than a million homes and injured 27,000 people.

The UN is raising US$791 million (HK$6.1 billion) for a yearlong recovery plan. The Philippine government has separately launched an US$8.17 billion reconstruction drive over four years.

Ban told reporters that the UN stands firmly with the Philippine efforts and leadership in improving preparedness and resilience to natural disasters.

He said he visited the country to show solidarity with the government and Filipinos, and was deeply moved and inspired by his visit Saturday to Tacloban city, one of the hardest-hit by the typhoon.

“People are working hard to recover,” he said. “We must not allow this to be another forgotten crisis.”