Senior UN Official Defends Philippine Government but Worries Aid Not Reaching Philippine Victims, Will Investigate

Valerie Amos, the UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, indicated on Monday that her office has  “a little bit of worry that in a couple of the smaller islands there may be needs there that we haven’t managed to meet yet.  I’m still hearing worrying reports in the media–indeed I heard one this morning–where people said they hadn’t received any aid as yet, and we’re looking into that.” Amos, who made the remarks while in Australia for talks with the Australian government, defended the Philippine government against criticisms that it was too slow to deliver aid to victims.  She said that the Philippines faces as many as 20 typhoons a year and is well prepared. “”But the scale and severity of this was something which none of us could have anticipated.”

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