More than a week after Typhoon Haiyan, health officials said on Friday that some victims are living off the land, CNN reported.
"One of the impressions is that there was total absence of food and water. Some victims survived on coconut juice," said Health Undersecretary Janette Garin, according to the state-run Philippine News Agency.
Crews in Tacloban, the city most heavily affected by Typhoon Haiyan, has raised the death toll to over 3600, according to the the national disaster agency. The number of injured stood at 12,165, and at least 1140 remained missing, CNN also reported.
"Health, nutrition, getting them clean water, good sanitation, protection, and we have to consider education also. Schools have been wiped out and getting kids into child-friendly spaces -- where they can feel protected, where they can get a chance to play, where they can get a sense of normalcy back in their life after going through such a devastating experience -- is very important," said UNICEF spokesman Kent Page, according to a CNN report.
The USS George Washington, an aircraft carrier with about 5,500 crew members onboard, arrived on Thursday, "accompanied by eight more ships that together, carry 80 aircraft, including 21 helicopters that can deliver supplies to villages where many roads have been obliterated and identify people still cut off from help," CNN also reported.
"The United Nations and the rest of the international community are doing everything possible to rush assistance to those who need it," said John Ging, Director of the Operational Division at the UN for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Ging also said that "the people of the Philippines are showing great courage and resilience, but they need our help. They need it now and they need it fast."
Valerie Amos, the Emergency The Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator spoke on Thurday of the need for a sustained and collective response by the international community to help those affected by the typhoon.
Amos spoke after visiting Tacloban where she met with survivors who were homeless and waiting for relief supplies to reach them. She said that "tens of thousands of people are living in the open or sheltering in the remains of their homes and badly damaged public buildings, exposed to rain and wind," according to the UN Press Release.
"On the security side, it's the Philippine authorities that are stepping up on providing the security for law and order," added Ging in Friday's UN press briefing.
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