AS thousands of displaced residents of Marawi City started their journey home early last week, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) supported their return by enhancing their access to health care and potable water.
“As we support the needs of returning residents, we remain deeply concerned about the thousands of people who will be unable to return in the coming months. They will need constant support during this period,” said Roberto Petronio, head of the ICRC Mindanao subdelegation, after his recent trip to Marawi City.
Petronio visited Marawi several days after the government officially declared the end of armed clashes between its forces and Islamic State Ranao fighters.
The five-month conflict caused 65 barangays minimum to medium damage. This means more than half of Marawi’s estimated 200,000 total population will be allowed by the government to come home in the coming days or weeks.
Barangay health stations in Basak Malutlut, Poblacion Marawi, East Basak and Bangon received essential medicines and supplies from the ICRC for the health needs of returning residents.
With the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), it installed 11 water-distribution points to augment the supply of potable water to nine barangays in the west part; and donated two generators to the Marawi City Water District, enabling it to supply around 62,000 people with 5 million liters of water per day.
“In the coming weeks, we plan to focus our assistance to thousands of people who will remain displaced in the southern and western parts of Lake Lanao, as these are areas that do not receive as much help due to access issues,” Petronio said.
As part of its work to reunite families separated by conflicts, the ICRC continues to follow up on cases of people who went missing in Marawi; and supports the PRC on its tracing services on the ground and through the web site https://familylinks.icrc.org/Philippines.