USAID turns over health, agriculture facilities to Leyte towns

BURAUEN, LEYTE, Philippines —The United States Agency for International Development  on Tuesday turned over a health facility to this town’s local government as well as a grains warehouse and solar dryer to Tanauan town, also in Leyte.

Clay Epperson, deputy mission director of USAID, led the turnover ceremony of these facilities built by the agency, as part of its rebuild and recovery assistance programs for Yolanda-devastated areas in Eastern Visayas.

The USAID turned over a 57-bed tertiary care hospital ward, which will provide maternal health services, and a Tuberculosis-Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (TB-DOTS) facility built beside the Burauen District Hospital.

Epperson assured local health officials and the Burauen people that the US government will continue its rebuild projects on top of its P200,000 annual medical aid to the anti-TB program and maternity services.

“We entrust you such assistance to provide proper health services to the less fortunate residents and the more than 50,000 residents of Burauen and nearby towns. We truly offer you our commitment of support,” he said.

The USAID, together with Governor Dominic Petilla, later turned over the US$57,356-worth grains warehouse and solar dryer facility at Barangay Sta. Elena in Tanauan town, intended for 108 farmer-beneficiaries having an aggregate palay production area of 120 hectares.

Petilla told The Freeman these facilities were constructed to be typhoon-resilient, meaning that these can withstand up to more than 300 kilometer per hour wind velocity, similar to Yolanda that devastated Leyte in 2013.

With the new agricultural facility, Petilla hoped that this will address the production and post-harvest needs of famers in this part of Leyte that would help them fully recover their livelihood and income.

USAID had earlier announced that the grains solar facilities are among the 30 agri-fishery support facilities to be constructed and completed under the livelihood component of USAID rebuild projects in Yolanda-hit areas in Region 8 and other parts of the Visayas. —Miriam Garcia Desacada and Primo A. Cayubit (FREEMAN)