Philippine cities tackle climate change

When asked what resilience means, the head of city planning for the Philippines’ second largest city, Davao, said that for Filipinos it means how high floodwater reaches before they agree to be evacuated. (..) “Awareness is not enough,” said the World Food Programme’s (WFP) country representative, Stephen Anderson. “Local governments don’t act on information from climate hazard maps,” he told IRIN, explaining why WFP, along with the UN Human Settlements Programme, is helping to “climate-proof” four cities - Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Butuan and Davao - under a US-funded climate change adaptation programme that is helping city officials conduct vulnerability assessments and implement pilot projects based on identified climate threats.

Number of Syrian Refugees Hits 1 Million, U.N. Says

The relentless exodus of Syrians fleeing two years of increasingly violent conflict pushed the number of refugees in neighboring countries passed the million mark on Wednesday, the United Nations Refugee agency said, warning that resources for helping them are dangerously thin. (..) An additional worry for relief agencies is that the funding received from donors has failed to keep pace with the accelerating scale of refugee needs.

World Food Program says refugee funds running out

The World Food Program will run out of money to provide displaced Syrians with food in the coming months unless Canada and other international donors step in to help, the organization’s top executive says. (..) Ertharin Cousin, who met Tuesday with International Co-operation Minister Julian Fantino, said the organization is ramping up its services as needs in Syria grow.

One Million Syrian Refugees

On Wednesday, my colleagues will register the one millionth Syrian refugee. A milestone in human tragedy. (..)As the devastation gets worse, it becomes more difficult, even life threatening, to access food, water or medicines. Syria’s children are the worst affected.