HIGHLIGHTS
Armed clashes in June displace more than 14,000 people
USAID partners provide emergency food, shelter, and WASH assistance
USAID/OFDA contributes additional $3 million to support conflict-affected IDPs and returnees
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Internally displaced person (IDP) returns to areas of origin continue, following conflict between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and armed groups that displaced more than 350,000 people from May–October 2017, according to the UN. More than 208,800 people had returned to areas of origin in Marawi—the capital city of Lanao del Sur Province in the Philippines’ Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao—and surrounding areas as of May 30, the UN reports.
Mid-June clashes between the GPH and armed groups in Lanao del Sur’s Tubaran municipality displaced nearly 14,900 people, according to the GPH Department of Social Welfare and Development. Of the total, more than 11,300 people were sheltering with host communities, while approximately 3,500 people were sheltering at 17 evacuation shelters in Lanao del Sur as of June 22.
USAID/OFDA recently provided an additional $3 million to Action Against Hunger/Spain (AAH/S) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to bolster ongoing emergency protection and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activities and launch early recovery livelihoods and shelter interventions in Lanao del Sur. To date, USAID has contributed $11.5 million in humanitarian assistance to support vulnerable populations affected by the Marawi crisis