Learning from Yolanda: Strengthening the Philippines’ Disaster Preparedness and Response with Family Food Packs

On 8 November 2013, Super Typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines. One of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded, it devastated much of the Philippines and especially the eastern island of Leyte.

Responsible for more than 6,000 deaths and damage totalling USD 2.2 billion (approximately PHP 95.5 billion), it is both the deadliest and most expensive storm in the Philippines’ recent history.

The government response to Super Typhoon Yolanda highlighted many operational bottlenecks impacting humanitarian efforts in the Philippines. Since 2014, the World Food Programme (WFP) has been working with the Learning from Yolanda:

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Office of Civil Defense to identify actions to address these logistical issues. This case study summarizes the implementation of these actions in 2015– 2017, as well as subsequent support WFP has provided to enhance the Government’s disaster preparedness and response capacity in logistics and supply chain management.