US pledges 8.5 million dollars in food aid to Philippines

Oct 26, 2009, 6:00 GMT

   Manila - The United States on Monday pledged to provide food assistance worth 8.5 million dollars to help feed thousands of typhoon victims in the Philippines.

   US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who was in Manila on a four-day trade mission, said the donation would provide food to 438,000 people for 60 days.

   'The US understands the importance of international assistance in the aftermath of disasters like the typhoons that recently hit the Philippines,' he said in a statement after meeting with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

   'The food aid I am announcing will help the people in the most need of assistance, and as a long-standing friend and partner of the Philippines, the US stands ready to continue our cooperation and assistance in the future,' he said.

   Vilsack said roughly 7,000 metric tons of US rice and 680 metric tons of non-fat dry milk would be processed into milk and biscuits for distribution to flood victims.

   Nearly 1,000 people were killed and more than 8 million people affected by floods and landslides caused by Tropical Storm Ketsana and Typhoon Parma, which struck the Philippines one week apart in September and October.

   The back-to-back cyclones also caused more than 652 million dollars of damage to agriculture and infrastructure.