Grant to go toward aid for recovery in Philippines

The Korean government said yesterday that it will provide a grant of 21 billion won ($20 million) for additional assistance toward recovery efforts in the Philippines from the ravages of Typhoon Haiyan.

The grant will be provided through the Korea International Cooperation Agency over three years starting from next year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed. That is in addition to the $5 million Korea has already pledged. The ministry said the amount of the grant was decided while taking into consideration past natural disasters in the Philippines as well as the scale of the typhoon, which hit the central part of the country on Nov. 8.

It added that detailed plans of supporting recovery efforts would be organized based on the needs of the Philippine government following a joint investigation team’s inspection and assessment of the disaster area.

The ministry said that it sent a second disaster relief team to the Philippines yesterday made up of 45 people, which included doctors and rescue workers. The first 44-member relief team was dispatched on Nov. 11, with its medical team treating about 200 to 300 patients per day. Doctors have accessed those in hard-to-reach areas via military aircraft.

Korean rescue workers dispatched to the Philippines are working in cooperation with United Nations forces to provide medical treatment and tend to the dead. They are due back on Sunday, the ministry said.

More than 4,000 people are estimated to have died and counting, with thousands more missing.

BY SARAH KIM [sarahkim@joongang.co.kr]