OCHA Situation Report No. 33
Earthquake and Tsunami
Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, & Somalia
25 March 2005


Main Highlights

>From 27 March to 27 April, the Government of Indonesia will gather
information on the future plans and activities of organizations
operating in NAD in order to determine how they can best meet the
reconstruction needs of the province. In Sri Lanka, a new radio station
covering the tsunami affected communities has been launched. In the
Maldives, delegates to the 18 March ADB-sponsored "High-level Conference
on Reconstruction of countries devastated by the December 2004 tsunami
disaster" backed a mechanism that would allow efficient and transparent
tracking of the billions of dollars in assistance planned. In Somalia,
the main operational challenge remains access to towns and settlements
on the coastal area.

Financial Highlights

As of 22 March, 58 governments have pledged, committed or contributed
(see definitions below) to the Flash Appeal.  Out of US$873 million
pledged to the FA by official donors, US$558 million has been
contributed.  A further US$195 million has been committed.  (558 + 195 753, meaning that 86% of official FA pledges have been converted into
commitments or contributions.) A balance of US$118 million remains as
uncommitted governmental pledges towards the Flash Appeal, not yet
received by any UN agency or NGO.

Counting these official commitments and contributions, plus private
donations applied to Flash Appeal projects, the Appeal stands 84%
funded.

REGIONAL

A Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the Flash Appeal will be issued on 6 April.
In the MTR, UN Country Teams and HQs will assess the current
humanitarian situation, update the common humanitarian action plan,
report on project implementation thus far, and update the projects,
budgets, funding requirements, and allocations of funds received to
date.

Mr. Erskine Bowles, the UN Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami
Reconstruction, is currently visiting the tsunami-affected region on
behalf of former President Bill Clinton, the UN Special Envoy for
Tsunami Reconstruction.

INDONESIA

I. Situation

On 22 March BAKORNAS reported that 126,602 bodies have been buried,
93,638 people are missing and 514,150 are displaced in 20
districts/cities in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Province (NAD).  The large
increase in the reported number of displaced people over the last week
is attributed to the late reporting of some sub-districts of NAD. There
are concerns about duplicate registration of displaced persons given the
high mobility of the population. Meanwhile in North Sumatra Province,
the numbers of people buried, missing, and displaced remain at 130, 24
and 19,620 respectively.

Mr. Bowles will travels to Indonesia from 23-25 March.  During his
visit, Mr. Bowles will discuss the reconstruction effort with Indonesian
Ministers and UN officials, and will focus on how work may permanently
improve the lives of the Acehnese.

The Government of the Republic of Indonesia (GoRI) issued a press
release on 22 March confirming that it continues to hold open the door
for foreign humanitarian organizations and agencies to participate in
the reconstruction and rehabilitation process in NAD. From 27 March to
27 April, the government will gather information on the future plans and
activities of organizations operating in NAD in order to determine how
they can best meet the reconstruction needs of the province.
Organizations wishing to continue operations in the area have been
requested to provide information on their planned activities and funding
sources prior to 27 April. The government does not intend to stop or
limit the activities of legitimate humanitarian organizations,
particularly those associated with the United Nations.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women has
expressed concern about the gender-specific needs and vulnerability of
women and girls. The aid community in NAD is addressing this issue
through its sectoral working group on gender, in cooperation with the
Bureau of Empowerment of Women within the Provincial Government. Gender
issues have also been addressed during the development of the
Government's Master Plan or blueprint on the recovery and reconstruction
of NAD.

II. Overview of Activities

While relief efforts are ongoing in NAD, UN agencies and NGOs are
increasingly focusing on developing longer-term strategies to address
recovery and reconstruction, particularly in regards to infrastructure
and capacity building of local and provincial institutions.

UNICEF reports a growing number of malaria cases, most likely due to
improved and increased testing for malaria by a much broader array of
partners. The Provincial Health Office (PHO), WHO and UNICEF are working
together to expand malaria control activities. The measles campaign was
completed in NAD with some 37,630 children between the ages of 6 months
and 15 years immunized, reaching 83% of the target population. Campaign
activities continue in other districts, with the PHO reporting 238,384
children vaccinated, 20% of the estimated target population.

To date, WFP has dispatched over 21,000 MT of food from Medan and
Jakarta, including provisions for a one-month pre-positioning of stock.
Approximately 9,400 MT of food commodities including rice, fortified
noodles and biscuits, canned fish and vegetable oil will be distributed
throughout 18 districts in NAD and North Sumatra Province with a current
beneficiary group of 590,570 (Total Assessed Caseload: 790,000). The
government has requested that WFP continue food distribution into the
recovery and reconstruction phase.

III. Main Challenges

As requested by the Ministry of Health, IOM has agreed to provide up to
51 satellite heath centres (SHC) at temporary shelter sites across NAD,
as well as expertise in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of health
facilities in four sub-districts in Aceh Barat and Nagan Raya. In the
past week, IOM has broken ground on three sites for the SHCs in Lambaro
Siron, Darussalam and Nusa. It takes approximately three weeks to build
a SHC.

In response to lessons learned in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar districts
regarding the poor water and sanitation conditions in Temporary Living
Centres (TLCs), a joint assessment of five TLCs in Meulaboh/Aceh Barat
was conducted on 15 March by OCHA, WHO, UNICEF and three NGOs (Oxfam,
Solidarite, and the Norwegian Church Aid). Food and potable water were
delivered to the TLCs although beneficiaries noted a lack of food
diversity and an irregular water supply. There is still an urgent need
for basic equipment (kitchen sets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, etc.).
Proper waste management as well as health awareness campaigns are also
needed. Some TLCs are isolated and far from basic services such as
schooling, hospitals, and the labour market, thus requiring transport
services. In Calang/Aceh Jaya, initial discussions with community
members have indicated that there are divisions about the willingness to
relocate to TLCs.  OCHA will discuss the issue with community leaders.

IV. Link Between Emergency Activities and Livelihood Recovery

In order to meet the immediate needs of farmers, as well as their
longer-term livelihoods, FAO has procured various tools, seeds and
fertilizers as well as some 500 hand tractors. Considering the large
demand for wood in the reconstruction process, FAO has proposed
assisting the Forestry Department to develop the local logging and wood
processing industry in a manner that respects both the logging
moratorium in NAD and international environmental standards and
regulations.

In Calang, WFP and FAO conducted a joint food and crop assessment. In
the immediate term the mission intends to design targeted food-for-work
programmes, and assess the feasibility of supporting agriculture and
fisheries start up programmes.

The number of UNDP's cash-for-work programmes is increasing. The
hospital cleaning project will scale-up from employing 70 women to a
planned 200 women. In Calang, Oxfam is now implementing cash-for-work
programmes for land clearance in Kreung Sabee, employing an additional
1,500 people.

V. Useful Websites

Government:

www.bakornaspbp.go.id (National Coordination Board for Natural Disaster
Management)

www.depsos.go.id (Department of Social Affairs)

www.depkes.go.id (Department of Health) www.lin.go.id (National
Information Board-Ministry of Information and Communication)
www.info-ri.com (Information-Republic Indonesia)

Other:

www. coe-dmha.org/tsunami.htm (daily chronology of key events)

www.apan-info.net - tsunami page (Pacific Command)

www.humanitarianinfo.org - Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC)


SRI LANKA

I. Situation

Mr. Bowles visited Sri Lanka from 21 to 22 March. During his stay in
Colombo, Mr. Bowles held meetings with a number of government officials,
the UN Country Team, civil society, the diplomatic and donor community
and the local media.  Mr. Bowles also visited Galle District to see,
amongst others, a medical clinic and temporary shelter and damaged homes
in the process of being rehabilitated.

The Registration General Department in Jaffna has conducted a mobile
registration service for tsunami-affected areas. Identity cards were
issued to 3,451 people who lost their IDs in the destruction.

NGOs have reported that bodies are still being discovered in the
Hikkaduwa Division. The American Red Cross has provided additional body
bags at the request of the Galle District authorities.

A new radio station, Sayura FM, has been established in Hambantota
District to reach tsunami-affected communities.

II. Overview of activities

The government's Transitional Accommodation Project (TAP) (in
cooperation with UNHCR and other agencies) announced the near completion
of 10,000 transitional housing units in ten affected districts. Four
thousand transitional housing units have already been completed, whilst
another 20,000 transitional housing units are slated for completion in
the coming months.

The Sri Lanka Red Cross has pledged to construct 15,000 houses in
tsunami ravaged areas. The programme will also include the
rehabilitation of 32 government hospitals affected by the tsunami.

A two-day workshop funded by WHO was recently held in Jaffna by the
Deputy Provincial Director for Health Services (DPDHS) to discuss
disease surveillance and prevention.

The WFP school feeding in Ampara is targeting 47 schools with an
approximate student population of 10,000. UNICEF will support WFP in the
implementation of its supplementary school-feeding programme for
children 5 to14 years old through a number of complementary activities
including hygiene promotion. WFP continues to support 128,000
beneficiaries in the Galle District where 24 four shelter camps are
still operating. Given the approaching monsoon, improving drainage, and
upgrading or replacing inadequate tents is critically needed in many of
the camps. UNICEF zone offices in the East report a significantly
improved water and sanitation situation. In Ampara, 33 water bowsers
serve an IDP population of 23,000 and a community population of 7,000
with at least 15 litres of water per person per day. UNICEF has
constructed over 100 additional temporary toilets over the past six
weeks and is to soon construct an additional 42 for transitional
shelters. The IDP population in the 57 IDP camps in the district now
have access to toilet facilities. In Batticaloa, a total of 132
temporary toilets have been constructed and six wells repaired.

In Jaffna, a four-day psychosocial course trained 20 psycho-social
trainers from SewaLanka.

III. Link between Emergency Activities and Livelihood Recovery

IOM reports that the transitional accommodation construction phase is
gearing up in several districts including Batticaloa. Of the 18
transitional shelters planned for Jaffna District, only one has been
completed. The remaining 17 are due to be finished in the coming weeks.
In a number of districts, IDPs are moving from temporary camps to newly
constructed transitional shelters.

An IOM psychosocial programme in Matara District is attempting to create
self-sustaining participatory involvement of people living in IDP camps.
The programme assists IDPs in reestablishing a sense of normality by
introducing a range of activities in the form of sports games,
performing and visual art activities, livelihood projects and community
events that stimulate the community.

UNICEF has already constructed 82 school shelters and are planning to
construct an additional 227. The Bank of Ceylon in the Galle District
announced the Susahana Loan Scheme to address the needs of small-scale
entrepreneurs who lost essential equipment during the tsunami.

The Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC) is now providing district
level meeting schedules and contact lists for Galle, Matara, Hambantota,
Jaffna and Ampara.  District level data for its "who does what where"
database is also being gleaned while HIC collaborates with the
Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA) to standardize the data for
the relief and recovery community.

IV. Useful Websites

Humanitarian Information Centre:  www.humanitarianinfo.org/srilanka

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
www.ochaonline.org

Sri Lankan Department of Census and Statistics:
www.statistics.gov.lk/Tsunami/index.htm

Government of Sri Lanka: www.priu.gov.lk

Recoverlanka: www.recoverlanka.net

Geolanka: www.geolanka.net

Sir Lankan Taskforce for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN):
www.tafren.gov.lk

For access to additional informative web links:
http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/srilanka/infocentre/links/links.asp


MALDIVES

I. Situation

Participants at the Maldives Development Partners' Meeting on 17 March
expressed a firm support for a short and medium-term post-tsunami
recovery plan for the Maldives. Most of the funding requested under the
Flash Appeal has been met. The Government of Maldives intend to appeal
for additional funding to cover a public financing gap of US$235.8
million. Additionally, the World Bank approved a total US$ 14 million
for the "Maldives Post-Tsunami Emergency Relief and Reconstruction
Project." The project will assist the government's efforts to provide
social services, restore livelihoods and continue to build the capacity
to implement the reconstruction and rehabilitation programme.

Delegates to the 18 March Asian Development Bank (ADB) sponsored
high-level conference on reconstruction of countries devastated by the
December 2004 tsunami disaster backed a mechanism that would allow
efficient and transparent tracking of the billions of dollars in
assistance planned. UNDP and ADB will work together to develop a system
to allow data from country level matrices to be absorbed into a
consolidated regional tracking mechanism. The database will capture all
forms of assistance including official development assistance, NGOs, and
private sector support.

Mr. Erskine Bowles visited the Maldives from 19 to 21 March as part of a
regional tour to solicit ideas on how the Office of the Special Envoy
can best assist in the recovery effort.

II. Overview of Activities

Five mobile reverse osmosis (RO) desalination units have been delivered
and installed on five islands covering two atolls. An additional 5 units
will shuttle between the various atolls as roaming water bowsers serving
the most isolated and remote islands currently suffering from water
shortages. It is expected that more than 50 islands will receive
sufficient drinking water in this way. Following this, 10 larger RO
units will provide training for operation and maintenance. In total,
UNICEF will supply 23 plants covering 12 of the 25 atolls. Planning and
contracting for the distribution of rainwater harvesting tanks has been
finalized for the delivery of 2,500 tanks to 18 atolls.

Soil salinity and water resources experts provided by FAO completed an
assessment mission to design a capacity building programme to strengthen
the skills of staff of the Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine
Resources. FAO fielded a boat-building engineer to assist the government
for the construction of small boats and repairs to damaged boats. In
additional, vegetable seeds sufficient for 10 islands were delivered.


For the vulnerable group-feeding programme during the period 24 February
to 21 March, WFP borrowed government stocks to distribute 94 MT of rice
and 25 MT of sugar.

III. Main Challenges

UNICEF undertook a mission to Shaviyani island (Komandoo atoll) to
conduct five separate psychosocial workshops for parents, health
workers, secondary schools boys and girls as well as for teachers. The
team found that even within the moderately affected populations, many
children and adults alike still struggle with the psychological impact
of the disaster. Access to ongoing psychological support is considered
essential and further support is urgently required.

WHO, in collaboration with the Department of Public Health (DPH), is
monitoring reported cases of measles. No other major outbreaks have been
reported recently.

Providing psychosocial support to affected communities remains a
priority with partners agreeing upon a three-tier approach. At the
primary level, the American Red Cross and the Ministry of Gender will
train community members and teachers in all the atolls; at the secondary
level, UNFPA will conduct a more focused training for the managers of
the IDP camps, community leaders, the media and health care workers. At
the central level, WHO will provide technical and clinical training and
referral services.

UNFPA conducted a second consultative workshop on reproductive health
and psychosocial support with representatives from government ministries
and WHO. Displaced persons feel increasingly isolated and neglected, and
in some cases feel that they are being excluded from income-generating
activities and information sharing.

IV. Link between Emergency Activities and Livelihood Recovery

Progress has been made in terms of shelter construction following the
recruitment of four contractors by UNDP to undertake technical
assessments in 36 islands. Assessments are ongoing, and an outline of
construction needs will be ready by 2 April 2005. In the meantime, UNDP
has advertised to identify local contractors for undertaking
construction and repair work on the sites. UNDP is also working closely
with OCHA on disaster risk management.

V. Useful Websites

United Nations Maldives Disaster Relief Taskforce: http://202.1.199.67

Maldives National Disaster Management Centre:
http://www.tsunamimaldives.mv

VI. Other Information

Field office contact Aishath Jeelaan, Communications Officer, United
Nations Resident Coordinator System, Tel: (960) 324501 ext. 227, mob:
(960) 787 987.


SOMALIA

I. Overview of Activities

On the occasion of the 8 March visit of the inter-agency assessment
mission team leaders to Puntland to present the mission report to the
authorities, OCHA appealed to the newly elected Government to take a
more proactive role in the coordination of humanitarian operations.
The Government responded by setting up the Humanitarian Affairs and
Disaster Management Agency (HADMA), the head of which will now chair
coordination meetings. The first meeting with the head of HADMA was held
on 22 March 2005. Agencies mapped humanitarian response activities in
all tsunami-affected areas by sector as well as agency. The next meeting
will be held in two weeks time (5 April). Future meetings will take
place on a monthly basis.

II. Main challenges and response

Coordination meetings are held in Garowe, for which some agencies travel
very long distances to attend. Rotation of meeting venues is under
consideration.

The main operational challenge remains access to towns and settlements
on the coastal area. Plans are underway to reconstruct roads but this
will take time.

III. Link between emergency activities and livelihood recovery

Some recovery activities have commenced. Following the release of the
inter-agency mission report in Nairobi, the SACB sectoral committees are
developing comprehensive response plans. At the field level in Puntland,
the coordination of such response activities will be facilitated by the
new HADMA, with assistance from OCHA.

For more information:

Telephone: +41-22-917 12 34
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23/06 28
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officers:
   Ms. Marie Spaak/Ms. Hannah Entwisle
   Direct Tel. 41-22-917 1728/1155

Press contact:
   GVA - Ms. Elisabeth Byrs, direct Tel. ++41-22-917 26 53
   NYC - Ms. Stephanie Bunker, direct Tel. +1-917 367 51 26
   NYC - Mr. Brian Grogan, direct Tel. +1-212-963 11 43


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