Where are we with the Yolanda Recovery?

THERE is an enduring adage that “the whole is only the sum of its parts.” Recent press and commentary on the statement of Professor Beyani, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, underlines the problems with highlighting certain issues in the absence of the whole. Beyani was complementary about the Yolanda recovery and rehabilitation efforts. He commended the institutional and policy structures and frameworks that have been put in place, noting that the Philippines has much valuable experience that should be shared internationally. This is a view UNDP shares. Our then Senior Recovery Coordinator said that from his experience in many different disasters, he had never seen a recovery happen so quickly and so effectively.

But there is no question that significant challenges remain to be resolved in areas affected by Yolanda. This is neither surprising nor unusual. Remember that two years following Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was in far worse shape. Following the Great East Japan Earthquake, 230,000 people today are still in temporary shelters. Clearly the baseline in the Visayas (and for that matter nationally) relating to economic development, infrastructure, local capacity, financial resources, systems and processes for emergency and recovery management, were far below that of New Orleans and Japan. Benchmarking progress is important in managing expectations. The multilateral community had anticipated that reconstruction in Yolanda-affected areas would take at least 4-5 years. The usual period of time it takes for areas in similar circumstances to recover.