The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, with several earthquakes and around 20 tropical cyclones per year among other natural calamities.
In 2015, the European Commission made available a total of € 2.1 million in response to the decades-long armed conflict in the southernmost island of Mindanao, which has displaced more than 495 000 individuals since 2012.
Following Typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Yolanda) in November 2013, the European Commission made available €40 million in relief assistance, early recovery and reconstruction to help the most affected communities. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism was activated to coordinate the delivery of assistance by the EU member states, which provided personnel and material support in addition to financial assistance totaling more than € 180 million.
Since 1997, the European Commission has released close to € 75.3 million in emergency relief interventions for survivors of natural disasters and € 24.7 million to help victims of armed conflicts. Furthermore, € 8.85 million have been allocated for local communities to better withstand future disasters (DIPECHO programme).