The aid agency is working closely with a number of partners to deliver water, basic sanitation, tents and tarpaulin for emergency shelters.

Oxfam will also be supporting households to rebuild their farming and fishing livelihoods while at the same time getting markets up and running so that food is available in local shops.

'€œThis is a massive disaster that requires a joint and swift response. The time when aid groups put their heads in the sand and work on their own is over,'€ Oxfam's regional humanitarian coordinator in Asia, Pauline Ballaman, said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

'€œWe are working with local municipalities, communities, organizers and local partners to bring assistance as fast and widely as possible,'€ she went on.

Oxfam has four teams to provide household water in Leyte and Samar, the worst-affected areas. It has also sent emergency water supplies to Tacloban to offer assistance quickly, despite the logistical challenges.

Oxfam has delivered sanitation kits to 10,000 people this week alone.

Each hygiene kit contains 3.5 kilograms of soap, a soap dish, two towels and two family-sized packages of dentonic powder, a substitute for toothpaste.

The hygiene kit also contains oral rehydration salts (ORS) to avoid dehydration, and separate detergents to wash clothes and dishes.

In its first phase, Oxfam aims to provide 20,000 families with safe drinking water and sanitation facilities. A cargo ship from the UK carrying 16 tons of aid worth US$200,000, including water and sanitation equipment, arrived in the country on Saturday and is being distributed to affected areas. (ebf)

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