The Economic and Social Council convened a Special Meeting on “Response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines” on 16 December as a step to follow-up on the resolution on strengthening of ECOSOC (A/RES/68/1). The Meeting, organized by UN-DESA in collaboration with OCHA and UNISDR, drew attention to the international community’s response to Typhoon Haiyan and explored ways to enhance coordination in response, rehabilitation, recovery and reconstruction/development efforts in its aftermath.

The meeting attracted high-level participation from Member States. In a keynote address, H.E. Mr. Jose Rene D. Almendras, Cabinet Secretary of the Philippines, illustrated the destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan and provided an overview of the Government’s response. The UN system was represented by Ms. Valerie Amos (OCHA), Ms. Margareta Wahlström (UNISDR), Ms. Luiza Carvalho (UN Resident Coordinator) and Mr. Nicholas Rosellini (UNDP). The Council also had an opportunity to interact with a representative of the civil society (American Red Cross) and the private sector on the response to the typhoon. Quite a number of delegations participated at the Ambassadorial level during the interactive dialogue. The summary of the meeting is available here.

The Economic and Social Council will convene a follow-up meeting to assess lessons learned in 2014.

More information on the Typhoon Haiyan:

• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Funding update; Financial Tracking Service)  
• UNICEF
• WFP
• UNHCR