WB increases emergency aid to Philippines to about $1bn

The World Bank offered here Friday USD 480 million in additional financial assistance to the Philippines following the USD 500 million emergency loan announced earlier this week. This came during a telephone call World Bank Group President Jim Yong held with the Philippine President Benigno Aquino today, during which he expressed sympathy to the government and people of the Philippines for the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), the World Bank said in a statement. During the phone call, Kim updated President Aquino on a package of assistance amounting to almost USD one billion, which can be delivered in a few weeks. Kim said he mobilized World Bank staff "to facilitate quick delivery of the USD 500 million emergency budget support loan with teams working around the clock, due to the urgent nature of the situation in the Philippines." According to the statement, the additional USD 480 million is financial assistance for the National Community Driven Development Project (NCDDP), which can be used for emergency response. The project "will empower communities themselves to lead the reconstruction effort, by offering a transparent way for people to identify their own needs." The statement added that Kim also informed Aquino "of the quick deployment of the Bank Group's disaster specialists who are now helping the government in Manila assess damages and identify priority areas for immediate recovery and reconstruction support."