Prominent International organizations have spoken positively about the efforts being undertaken by the Philippine Government to restore normalcy in areas hit by Typhoon Yolanda, the world’s strongest cyclone in 2013.

On November 3, the Asian Development Bank  (ADB) said that they are impressed with efforts to rehabilitate communities hit by ‘Yolanda’.

“Despite challenges, rehabilitation efforts in Eastern Visayas were even moving faster than what was seen during the earthquake and tsunami that struck Aceh, Indonesia, 10 years ago,” ADB Vice President on East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Stephen Groff.

Groff added that they expect reconstruction in ‘Yolanda’-affected areas to take four to five years – the usual amount of time it takes for areas in similar situations to recover.

On the other hand, Luisa Carvalho, the United Nations resident humanitarian coordinator,  said that the  Philippine Government had to respond to the needs of 10 million Filipinos displaced by both man-made and natural disasters in 2013.

“So comparing to other experiences, we can say that the Philippines is in a satisfactory, very positive path. Considering the size of the event, the path of the response is very satisfactory,” Carvalho said.

Carvalho added that the UN country team released its final monitoring report on ‘Yolanda’ response and recovery efforts in August, three months ahead of schedule, both because  significant progress  had already been made out of the Strategic Response Plan, and in response to the government’s decision to shift fully from relief to recovery.

Likewise, Peter Agnew, a senior official of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Tacloban also told  a news agency,   “If this had happened in some other countries in the region, the recovery would certainly not be like this.”

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said that these positive remarks “will definitely boost the morale of all rehabilitation workers especially the volunteers and government workers.”

“The task of rebuilding is indeed a challenge but with the private sector, our partner non-government and international humanitarian organizations, and the survivors themselves working together, we have no doubt that the areas devastated by ‘Yolanda’ will rise again,” Sec. Soliman added. ###