Tsunami's devastating impact

THE United Nations in a press release yesterday announced some of the assistance provided to date by UN agencies in the areas of food, health, water and sanitation and education to bring the affected lives back to normality.

The release: "By June 16 the Government of Sri Lanka reported that 31,229 persons died as a result of the tsunami and 4,100 persons were missing.

The GOSL also announced that 516,150 persons are currently registered as tsunami-displaced in welfare centres or staying with friends and relatives and 14 districts in the country had been affected by the tsunami.

275,000 lost jobs - nine out of ten working men and women - according to ILO with 34 per cent of such jobs having been in the fishing industry.

31,000 transitional shelters have now been completed by a variety of actors, including international and national NGOs, private groups and UNHCR, IOM and various other agencies and NGOs nationwide with some 150,000 family members now living in them. Another 9,000 transitional shelters are expected to be completed by the end of June, according to TAFREN.

54,266 transitional shelters in all are currently scheduled to be completed in the coming months, housing more than 250,000 people according to UNHCR. 9,480 families were still living in tents as of June 8 according to the Head of TAFOR. Over 480,000 non-food relief items (mosquito nets, lanterns, cooking utensils, buckets, etc.) have been provided to affected families by UN agencies.

Some of the assistance provided to date by UN agencies 53,000 tonnes of foods were provided by the World Food Programme, feeding some 910,000 people and 101 emergency health kits were provided to hospitals and clinics by UNICEF and WHO benefiting some 1,500,000 tsunami-affected people.

Approx. 6000 malaria rapid diagnostic kits and over 100,000 anti-malarial tablets supplied by UN agencies. 48,000 impregnated mosquito nets have been provided by UNICEF and WHO with 50,000 more are on the way.

Some 10,000 chlorine tablets, 500 chlorine testing kits, 30 bacteriological testing kits and 900 sanitation kits for toilet maintenance by UN agencies.

384,885 children between 6-months to 5-years in the 10 tsunami-affected districts have received vitamin "A" mega dose supplementation.

At least 650 wells have been cleaned by UNICEF and water purification tablets have been distributed extensively in camps and shelter sites by UNICEF and WHO.

Over 100,000 persons are being provided 15 litres of drinking water per-day by means of 285 water tanks, 96 water bladders holding 1,500 litres each and 11 water bowsers supplied by UNICEF.

3,109 School-in-a-Box kits have been provided for over 200,000 children and more 1,350 recreation kits have been distributed reaching some 81,000 children by UNICEF. 172 schools have been cleaned with the support of UNICEF.

104 temporary teaching facilities - out of 277 planned - have been provided by UNICEF plans to restore 24 school buildings.

Over 227,000 school uniforms, 50,000 desks and chairs, 480,000 textbooks, and over 114,000 school bags have been provided by UNICEF.

10,198 boats in total have now been repaired or replaced by government agencies and NGOs, according to FAO. 3,415 boats, 212 inboard engines and 658 outboard motors have been repaired by FAO and it enables some 12,000 fishers to resume their livelihoods.

25 IOM sewing centres have been opened by IOM in camps to provide training and employment to tsunami-affected people and fifty-nine carpenters have been provided with IOM replacement tool kits to help rebuild their livelihoods.

Cash-for-work and food for work projects by various UN agencies are ongoing. They include; a WFP food-for-work program that will reach 277,000 people; a US$ 519,000 UNDP cash for work program for 3,500 people in seven hard-hit districts that is providing 88,603 total days of work; and a pilot cash-for-work project, assisted by the ILO, in which two roads are being cleaned and repaired, providing 20 people some 1,600 workdays.

The pilot project will provide valuable experience for ILO policy technical advice to the Rapid Income Recovery Programme (RIRP) of TAFREN.