U.N. raps Philippines for failing to rehouse typhoon homeless
The United Nations on Friday urged the Philippines to speed up completion of housing for thousands of people made homeless by super typhoon Haiyan nearly two years ago.
Haiyan,
the strongest-ever storm to make landfall in the Philippines, killed
more than 6,300 people and displaced 4.1 million in 2013.
"Many
families remain housed in collective 'bunkhouses' that do not meet
necessary minimum standards for the provision of basic needs and
services," Chaloka Beyani, U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, said in a news conference in Manila.
"I
was concerned to learn that funding shortfalls and political
challenges, including inadequate cooperation between national and local
governments, are delaying processes towards achieving durable solutions."
Official
government records obtained by Reuters showed only 2.5 percent of the
targeted 21,012 permanent housing in the worst-hit Eastern Visayas
region were ready as of June. The National Housing Authority reported
only 542 houses were completed.
About 4,900 houses
are in different phases of construction. In two towns on Samar island
and six towns on Leyte island, not a single house had been built 20
months after the typhoon struck.
An average of 20
typhoons hit the Philippines every year, causing heavy casualties and
damage to agriculture, infrastructure and private property.
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