Typhoon Haiyan: The IWPR Response and How You Can Help
Citizen watch initiative will help ensure funds reach those who need it.
Typhoon Haiyan: The IWPR Response and How You Can Help
Citizen watch initiative will help ensure funds reach those who need it.
For more information about the project, contact IWPR Asia Director Alan Davis
Millions of dollars of aid are being donated to the Philippines in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan. How can donors around the world know that their money is actually benefiting those in need?
The Institute for War & Peace Reporting has been working in the Philippines since 2006. Three days after Typhoon Haiyan caused massive damage and took thousands of lives, IWPR and its three local partner organisations launched a citizen action campaign to help ensure that not a single cent or centavo donated gets lost as a result of corruption.
IWPR launched its first anti-corruption project in the Philippines in 2010, and this year, with the help of the European Union, we launched the Citizen Action Network for Accountability, or CANA for short.
CANA battles corruption simply but with amazing impact. It provides ordinary Filipino citizens with the tools and knowledge they need to understand, monitor and engage in decisions related to public fiscal issues and spending. The result of this kind of citizen involvement is a major reduction in corruption.
Last week, as part of CANA's ongoing activities, we launched Yolanda Citizen Watch. (Yolanda is the local name for Typhoon Haiyan.)
While the rescue effort will soon be over, recovery and rehabilitation for the millions of people affected will take years. Yolanda Citizen Watch and IWPR will be helping to make sure all the money pledged goes where it should.
For more information about Yolanda Citizen Watch, CANA and what IWPR is doing in the Philippines, please visit citizenaction.net, transparencyreporting.net and facebook.com/yolandacitizenwatch.
For more information about the project, contact IWPR Asia Director Alan Davis.