At a glance: Philippines
Newsline
Mothers encouraged to breastfeed in aftermath of Philippines flooding
A new UNICEF report, 'Tracking Progress on Child and Maternal Nutrition', says undernutrition is a factor in a third of all deaths of children under five. Here is one in a series of related stories.
Restoring normalcy for children in aftermath of tropical storm Ondoy
PASIG CITY, Philippines, 19 October 2009 – The flood waters that still inundate much of the Philippines' capital have become black with waste and garbage, a daily reminder of tropical storm Ondoy, which struck the country on 26 September.
UNICEF Executive Director visits flood-stricken Philippines
MANILA, Philippines, 8 October 2009 – UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman visited the Philippines yesterday to see the damage done by Tropical Storm Ondoy and subsequent massive flooding.
Triple punch tests disaster preparedness in Asia-Pacific region
NEW YORK, 2 October 2009 – A convergence of severe natural disasters has left millions of people in distress across Asia and the Pacific this week. Since 26 September, a total of six countries have been hit by flooding, a typhoon, a tsunami and earthquakes.
In the storm-stricken Philippines, a true story of a mother’s love
MANILA, Philippines, 1 October 2009 – It was a day that would be etched forever in Lea Mariano’s memory. On 26 September, she and 90 million other Filipinos went about their day in the usual fashion: enjoying a typical Saturday with family, running errands, going to the mall or taking care of their babies.
UNICEF and partners respond to flood crisis in the Philippines
NEW YORK, USA, 5 October 2009 – More than 200 people have died, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes, due to flooding triggered by Tropical Storm Ondoy in and around metropolitan Manila in the Philippines just over a week ago. Additional flooding affected rural areas this past weekend as another storm, Parma, struck primarily in northern Luzon province.
‘Beyond School Books’ – a podcast series on education in emergencies
NEW YORK, USA, 1 July 2009 – After participating in the Second Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction – held in Geneva in mid-June – UNICEF Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist Antony Spalton and Rhee, a 16-year-old boy from the Philippines, spoke with UNICEF Radio’s Amy Costello about the role of children in protecting their communities from natural disasters.
Barclays Group Chairman visits projects for poor families in Manila
MANILA, Philippines, 17 March 2009 – Marcus Agius, global Chairman of Barclays Group, recently visited Pasay City in Metro Manila, Philippines, to see how the funds donated by the global banking group are benefiting families living in poverty.
Youths drawn into online sexual exploitation in the Philippines
CEBU, Philippines, 15 December 2008 – In a poor shanty in the Central Philippines city of Cebu, a tiny internet café offers broadband connectivity with the outside world. In a place that lacks running water, the opportunities presented by the existence of the worldwide web are boundless.
Combating child sexual exploitation in the Philippines pornography trade
MANILA and CEBU, Philippines, 17 November 2008 – At a shopping mall in Makati, Manila, a raid targeting child pornography begins. Sifting through some of the thousands of pirated DVDs is child rights campaigner Senator M.A. Madrigal.
Disaster preparedness for schools in the Philippines
ALBAY PROVINCE, Philippines, 7 October 2008 – At Banadero Elementary School, the clanging of the alarm bell echoes around the schoolyard. Children file out of their classrooms in orderly columns to pre-arranged assembly points. All the pupils, even the youngest, have the calm composure that comes from practice, because they have been through this drill before.
‘Days of Peace’ promote child survival and development in Philippines conflict areas
NEW YORK, USA, 9 May 2007 – For decades, an often violent battle between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has raged in the picturesque countryside of the southern Philippines. The conflict has devastated thousands of villages, leaving children without access to essential services.
A young environmentalist encourages positive change in the Philippines
SAN PABLO CITY, Philippines, 24 April 2007 – Fourteen-year-old Maia Azores loves to dance and play sports just like any other teenager, but what makes her stand out from other young Filipinos is her passion for environmental activism.
Philippines typhoon damage leaves thousands homeless and education at risk
CAMARINES SUR PROVINCE, Philippines, 21 December 2006 – Bato South Central Elementary School, in the province of Camarines Sur, was destroyed by Typhoon Reming – also known as Durian – on 30 November.
Emergency aid starts to reach Philippines areas hit by typhoon and mudflows
NEW YORK, USA, 5 December 2006 – In the Philippines, the death toll from Typhoon Reming, also known as Durian, has climbed to more than 570, according to the latest government figures.
Philippines youth journalists share their views through children’s TV network
MANILA, 6 November 2006 – The Kabataan News Network (KNN) is the centerpiece of UNICEF’s communications work for and with adolescents in the Philippines. The network’s production crew consists of camera people, reporters and production assistants, all of whom are in their teens.
Digital Diary: A youth anti-violence activist in the Philippines tells her story
NEW YORK, USA, 10 October 2006 – Cora Buala, a 19-year-old activist in the Philippines, spent several weeks using a MiniDisc recorder to document her thoughts and conversations on violence against children for UNICEF Radio.
Early learning programme reaches Manila’s deprived children
MANILA, 3 October 2006 – With concentrated expressions, the young children follow their teacher’s lead, faithfully reciting the words to a poem about ‘basura,’ or garbage. The lesson is designed to teach them at the earliest possible age that the problem of sanitary waste disposal has become a scourge in their community.
A cleaner environment for learning in the central Philippines
CAPIZ, Philippines, 22 September 2006 – The children at San Antonio Elementary School here in the central Philippines are proof that a clean environment is the best environment when it comes to learning.
In the Philippines, UNICEF gears up response to Mount Mayon eruption threat
MANILA, Philippines, 23 August 2006 – More than a week after a high alert (level 4 out of 5) was declared at Mount Mayon in the Philippines province of Albay, the number of evacuees from the active volcano zone continues to rise.
Mothers in Philippines break Guinness World Record for breastfeeding
MANILA, Philippines, 16 May 2006 – Almost 4,000 mothers in the Philippines – along with their babies – have helped set a new world record for simultaneous breast-feeding. It easily beat the previous Guinness World Record set by 1,135 women in Berkeley, California.
Counting every child: Birth registration drive under way in the Philippines
MANILA, Philippines, 14 March 2006 – It is a big day for Asiyah Sultan and her children. The family has traveled to a mobile birth registration centre in a Manila suburb, taking part in a drive that aims to reach all the children of the Philippines.
Rescue teams continue search for survivors of mudslide
ST. BERNARD, Philippines, 22 February 2006 – Although time is running out, rescue teams in the Philippines have continued to dig in hopes of finding more survivors from last Friday’s deadly mudslide.
Relief arriving for survivors of mudslide tragedy
ST. BERNARD, Philippines, 20 February 2006 – International aid has begun to pour in for the survivors of Friday’s mudslide in the Philippines. The first shipments of UNICEF supplies – including essential drugs, medical equipment and water purification tablets – arrived the next day. Relief efforts are being coordinated with the Philippines Armed Forces and the Red Cross.
Philippines Senate action builds hope for children in jail
PASAY CITY, Philippines, 16 December 2005 – The Philippine Senate has passed the Juvenile Justice Bill by a unanimous vote of 21-0 on its third and final reading last week.
Philippines launches UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS
MAKATI CITY, Philippines, 15 December 2005 – UNICEF Representative Nicholas K. Alipui formally declared the launch of the UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS campaign in the Philippines during the 2005 MTV Staying Alive Music Summit for HIV/AIDS.
Immunization campaign seeks to prevent resurgence of polio in the Philippines
TAWI-TAWI, Philippines, 13 October 2005 – The Philippines has been polio-free since 2000, and the country is going to great lengths to keep it that way, especially now that more than 200 children have contracted the disease in neighbouring Indonesia.
Flying boat carries hopes and dreams for children
NEW YORK, 27 August 2005 - Circling the Statue of Liberty, then touching down majestically on the Hudson River, a vintage seaplane arrives in New York City to pay tribute to an aviation pioneer, inspire young people and raise funds for UNICEF.
Freed from the sex trade, girls get a new start
NEW YORK, 26 August 2005 – Thousands of girls and young women pour into Manila every year in search of work to support their family. Lured by the promise of a better life, many fall prey to the city’s sex industry.
Girls are equal to boys in Philippine schools. Or are they?
MANILA, 14 June 2005 – “In my class, it’s mostly boys who drop out,” said Vernelou Kidro, 16, during a recent theater rehearsal at a community centre in Tondo, a Manila neighbourhood with thousands of tiny, ramshackle houses. “Often, they lack interest or are just too poor to afford school.”
Philippines: Picking up the pieces after deadly typhoons
QUEZON, Philippines, 25 April 2005 – While the world’s attention has been focused on the Indian Ocean tsunami, tens of thousands in the Philippines have been dealing with the aftermath of another natural disaster that has gone largely unnoticed. In December 2004 three typhoons hit the South Eastern province of Quezon, killing more than 2,000 people, destroying homes, schools and injuring thousands more.
Parliamentarians meeting: Child protection a major issue
NEW YORK, 6 April 2005 – On day three of her visit to the Philippines for the annual International Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy urged lawmakers to focus on the factors that make children such easy targets for exploitation. Later in the day she received an award on behalf of UNICEF, presented by the Philippine Government.
UNICEF urges lawmakers to use power to protect children
MANILA, 4 April 2005 – This week UNICEF is challenging hundreds of lawmakers from around the world to use their power to alleviate the suffering of millions of children who are subjected to violence and exploitation.
Return to normalcy depends on schools
MAKATI CITY, Philippines, 10 December 2004 - UNICEF today appealed for the immediate reconstruction of schools and day care centers in storm-damaged areas of the Philippines. The country is currently recovering from an onslaught of typhoons and other storms in late November and early December.
Struggling to recover after storms
MAKATI CITY, Philippines, 9 December 2004 – UNICEF and other aid agencies are racing to bring emergency supplies to hundreds of thousands of survivors after two typhoons and two tropical depressions ravaged the Philippines in November and early December.
Philippines: Relief agencies struggle to meet basic needs after storms
NEW YORK, 6 December 2004 – A series of devastating storms in the Philippines has left a thousand people dead or missing. Relief agencies are struggling to meet the basic needs of hundreds of thousands of survivors, especially children, who are urgently in need of water, food and medicines.
‘KNN’: Philippine youth produce their own TV programming
MANILA/NEW YORK, 4 November 2004 – On Saturday morning TV in the Philippines, 17-year-old Athea talks about the infamous but delicious local fruit, the durian. Later, a young reporter discusses how tribal wars disrupt children's schooling and make young people feel unsafe in their own homes. These are some of the many features shown on the ‘Kabataan News Network’, whose content is produced entirely by young people – a first for the Philippines.
