The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) has sent an official to assess the situation in typhoon-devastated areas in the Philippines.

UN-OCHA Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes will be in the country Monday and Tuesday to assess the damage in areas devastated by tropical storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng” and confer with government officials handling disaster response and relief activities.

Holmes’ visit was announced by UN Development Program resident representative Jacqueline Badcock during the Manila launch of the UN Flash Appeal for the victims of Ondoy last October 7.

A similar Flash Appeal for the Philippines was held in Geneva, Switzerland, and New York last week.

Badcock said that based on a rapid needs assessment, the immediate needs of the Philippines include food and nutrition, water and sanitation, hygiene, health, shelter, and non-food items, as well as logistics, emergency telecommunication and coordination, child protection and camp management.

She also said there is a “clear need for urgent interventions in the education sector” as schools and school materials had also been destroyed by the typhoon.

“We urge donor communities to lend their support to the project’s outline in the appeal. One million in affected areas continue to be in need of humanitarian assistance,” Badcock said.

Badcock said a Flash Appeal is called by governments who feel that the disaster is beyond their capacity to respond at a particular time. A similar Flash Appeal had been made by the UN following the onslaught of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar last year.

The last time the Philippine government made a Flash Appeal was in 2006 following the devastation brought by typhoon “Milenyo,” supertyphoon “Reming,” and typhoon “Seniang.”

In its Flash Appeal, the UN is seeking US$74,021,809 to meet the urgent needs of one million Filipinos affected by the typhoon. The appeal will open for a period of six months.

Among those that have provided assistance to the Philippine government include the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, France, Singapore, Germany, the European Commission, Canada, Vietnam, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Jordan, the Czech Republic, United Kingdom and Israel.

UN agencies such as the World Health Organization, World Food Program, and the United Nations Children’s Fund have also provided relief assistance.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Deputy Secretary General Sayakane Sisouvong visited Manila last October 3 and met with Philippine officials, giving the assurance that ASEAN’s emergency relief fund called “ASEAN Cooperation Fund for Emergency Relief” is available to typhoon victims.

Meanwhile, the UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU) said it has teamed up with two global satellite companies to ensure stronger emergency communication response before an impending disaster.

The ITU has partnered with Inmarsat and Vizada, two global satellite companies that would donate 70 state-of-the-art highly portable satellite devices capable of delivering voice and broadband data wherever disasters take place.

The ITU said it will receive preferential airtime rates and technical training support as part of the agreement.

“This partnership builds on our long-standing cooperation and comes at a critical time when many countries are being affected by disasters resulting in thousands of people losing their lives,” said Sami Al Basheer, director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau.

“When everything else fails, satellite communications provides a critical link for humanitarian agencies and victims,” he added.

Cosmas Zavazava, ITU’s chief of Emergency Telecommunications, said the initiative will help countries use information communications technology (ICT) “when terrestrial networks are disrupted or destroyed.”

Inmarsat, which has its headquarters in London, has dispatched a two-man team to Cagayan last weekend after a request from the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC). Cagayan was among the areas battered by Pepeng.

Inmarsat established an emergency communications center relying on Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) Service to support the aid effort.