The United Kingdom will contribute nearly £1 million to assist victims of Typhoon Goni in the Philippines, and those affected by the destructive natural disaster in Vietnam, said FCDO Minister for Asia, Nigel Adams.

“The typhoons that have hit the Philippines and Vietnam have had a devastating impact on lives and livelihoods across the region. Today’s £1 million UK aid package will help to deliver life-saving food, clean water and safe shelter to those who need it most and help both the Philippines and Vietnam recover from such destructive natural disasters,” FCDO Minister for Asia Nigel Adams said.

The financial aid will be utilized to provide clean water, shelter, food and support livelihoods for over 150,000 people in Vietnam and 80,000 in the Philippines.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Health of Philippines is encouraging the people to take part in immunization programs to protect their children from vaccine-preventable diseases like rubella, measles and polio.

From October 26 to November 25, 2020, the Department of Health-Centers for Health Development in Bicol is going to start a Measles, Rubella and Oral Poliomyelitis Vaccine Supplemental Immunization Activity.

The government has also been vigilant in preventing diseases that’re highly contagious, and might lead to serious complications.

Urging the government to invest more in agriculture, Philippines’ Vice President Leni Robredo said the country’s policymakers should make sure that the current health crisis does not turn into a food crisis.

The 55-year-old leader said food production must be increased in order to avoid supply shortage and bring stability in food prices.

The Southeast Asian country’s Vice-President also gave her suggestions on how to boost investments in areas that benefit the farming sector, especially in modern technology and farm-to-market infrastructure.

The Philippines government, in collaboration with WHO and UNICEF, will conduct the nationwide measles and polio supplemental immunization campaign next month.

In the Philippines, about 2.4 million children under the age of 5 are susceptible for measles.

The nationwide Measles Rubella-Oral Polio Vaccine Supplemental Immunization campaign will be launched in two phases.

• Phase 1 will be conducted from 26 October to 25 November 2020

• Phase 2 will be conducted in February 2021

State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has partnered with the Department of Agriculture (DA) and a leading fintech firm to provide accessible financing to aspiring entrepreneurs in the farming sector.

“For implementing the Kapital Access for Young Agripreneurs (KAYA) loan program of the DA, DBP would serve as a settlement bank to the lending conduits of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council and PayMaya Philippines, Inc,” DBP President Emmanuel G. Herbosa said.

To recall, DBP is one of the largest banks in the country in terms of assets and provides credit support to the strategic sectors of the economy.

As of end-March, the lender has disbursed over P371-billion in loans to various borrowers.

Philippines’ Department of Agriculture welcomed the Senate’s decision to set aside at least P17 billion for the recovery of the agriculture sector from the COVID-19 pandemic.

During his State of the Nation Address, President Rodrigo Duterte thanked police and soldiers for maintaining food security in the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic and said the agriculture sector is crucial when it comes to propelling the country’s economy amid the recession.

To help farmers and fishers boost productivity, the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) released a total of P3.02 billion in loans for the purchase of farm inputs and equipment, acquisition of machinery and facilities for agri-based production and post-production, as well as processing.

The state-owned bank said that it extended P2.5 billion in loans to over 19,000 eligible borrowers, including small farmers and fishers (SFFs), micro and small enterprises (MSEs), farmers and fisherfolk cooperatives and associations, as of June 30 under the ACEF (Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund) Lending Program.

It is worth mentioning here that the bank is one of the implementing agencies for the P1-billion RCEF (Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund) allocation for credit.