COVID-19 Pandemic Response: Philippines

Give2Asia is partnering with trusted nonprofit organizations responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Donate online to support local relief efforts in the Philippines. 

SITUATION UPDATE: September 2022 

By the end of August 2022, the Philippines recorded as many as 889 daily new cases, which were dominantly from Omicron BA.5 subvariant. However, health experts predict that cases may increase to the thousands daily by the end of September.  This situation might be prevented depending on how the vaccination program goes. As the vaccination campaign is still running, the vaccination rate remains low compared to the target populations. Timely vaccine roll-out continues to be dilemma for the Government,  coupled with some populations  are unwilling to be vaccinated. The Country continues its awareness-raising effort to ensure communities follow strict health protocols by using a face mask in daily activities. 

The Philippines Government realizes that the vaccination program should continue, and the Official has put on a plan to conduct vaccination week on September 2022, where citizens are encouraged to have the next dose of the Covid-19 vaccine; the program will also be held at schools. Furthermore, in relation to the vaccine, the Government is also preparing to purchase a new batch of Covid-19 vaccine to reduce Omicron BA.5 subvariant outbreak. Early this year, the Philippines Government also started to disburse “One Covid-19 Allowance (OCA)” for healthcare workers (HCWs) and non-healthcare workers involved in the Covid-19 response as compensation for their effort. 

After a two school years, onsite classes in schools have reopened in staggered schedules in August 2022. The Department of Education intends to have full face to face classes implemented in all schools by November 2022.  

Current Needs 

Give2Asia’s disaster response program funds both immediate needs and long-term recovery. Currently, our funding priorities in the Philippines include: 

• Vaccination and vaccine booster programs 
• Support online education activities at schools 
• Awareness raising on Covid-19 mitigation and prevention 

FEATURED PARTNERS (partial list)

Our local NGO partners in the Philippines include: 

Caritas Manila 

Caritas Manila, through its Caritas Damayan Program, works through local parishes to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Project Damayan needs funds for food relief packs and hygiene kits.

Caritas is also looking at expanding support to include livelihood assistance for beneficiaries with selling experience. With the capital assistance, beneficiaries are given the freedom to propose his/her desired livelihood. When the proposal is feasible and can be helpful to the family of the beneficiary, they will be provided a capital assistance worth five thousand pesos (5,000) for each family.

Philippine Business for Social Progress 

PBSP’s COVID-19 efforts are focused in 3 areas:

• Food pack distribution: Php 750/$15 a pack, with rice, vegetables, dressed chicken/fish, monggo, eggs, sourced from partner farmer cooperatives
• Reusable masks sponsorship via Mask4AllPH: a pack of 10 face masks (P300/$6) for urban poor families. These masks are made by community sewers from Quezon City and Cavite.
• Learning continuity: P25K/school package ($500) consisting of 100 reams of bond paper (or ink when needed) plus the year-long data load for 2 teachers for selected schools.

Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation

PDRF helps families that were economically displaced by the pandemic through distribution of groceries/grocery vouchers. For this, PDRF engages with other non profits such as Caritas Manila and ABS CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc.

Teach for the Philippines

Teach for the Philippines raises funds for Learning Community Microgrants for partner schools. Microgrants typically funds school-based remediation programs, capacity building programs for teachers, and bridging programs for disadvantaged students. Grants also support mobile data subsidies, purchase of Wifi modems and additional printer ink cartridges.

FundLife International

FundLife is providing access to emotional support and educational resources for highly-vulnerable adolescent girls affected by the pandemic. Their programs include:

• ‘Safe-at-Home’ packs to protect young people while at home. These include mental health resources, resilience activities, protection resources, mentorship access and basic hygiene and communication access
• ‘Learn-at-Home’ packs to ensure young people stay in learning: Includes access to educational videos, education packs focusing on keeping healthy and committed to their education
• ‘Community Learning Spaces’ to give children access to teachers and mentors. With physical schools closed for over 400 days, children are being left behind due to the digital and educational divide. FundLife is creating safe community learning spaces bringing teachers, mentors and students together to ensure they are keeping up.

Save the Children (Philippines)

Save the Children provides specialized support to different areas in the Philippines depending on the priorities identified by the communities. These are determined through needs assessment via consultation and online surveys. Areas of support include hygiene kits, installation of handwashing facilities, meals for frontliners, medical supplies, and personal protective equipment or PPEs. Save the Children also provides information, education, and communication materials on good hygiene, health, education, child protection, parenting tips, and at-home-activities to help families cope with the crisis.

Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Patients Assistance, Inc.

The DJNRMHPAI was established to extend assistance to the general care patients of the Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital. The hospital is one of the biggest Covid-referral hospital in Metro Manila. Identified needs include hospital supplies such as PPEs, N95 masks, disinfectant, and specific hospital equipment.

HOW TO GIVE 

Click the “Donate Online” button above to make a credit card donation. For large gifts (via check, bank transfer, stock, or cryptocurrency) or corporate giving opportunities, please contact our international giving team.

PROGRESS REPORT

In 2021, Give2Asia published a progress report on COVID-19 relief efforts across Asia. You can also read our previous report on the first 100 days of our campaign in 2020.