OCHA Situation Report
Sri Lanka
17 - 23 June 2005


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Overall Situation

UNICEF's Executive Director, Ms. Ann M. Veneman concluded a three-day 
visit to Sri Lanka on 18 June, stating that relief efforts in 
tsunami-affected countries need a continued focus on children. 
Accompanied by Mr. Toshi Niwa, UNICEF's Deputy Executive Director, Ms. 
Veneman met with children and parents in schools and camps for the 
displaced. While in Sri Lanka, the UNICEF Executive Director met with 
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse to discuss relief efforts and to look 
at additional avenues of cooperation to reach children in need. She also 
met with Mr. S.P. Tamilchelvan, political leader of the LTTE, in 
Killinochchi to discuss tsunami efforts in the North and East. She 
expressed support for the Joint Mechanism to speed up post-tsunami 
recovery and reconstruction efforts.

Coordination and common services

IOM currently maintains a vehicle fleet of 83 lorries each with a cargo 
capacity of 10 tonnes. The agency continues to provide free transport 
assistance to government agencies, international organizations, NGOs, 
donors and others. It has made some 2,500 trips for such organizations 
in the last six months. In the first two weeks of June, IOM made 101 
such trips Thirty-nine lorries transported medicines and medical 
equipment for the Ministry of Health; 15 transported food items, milk 
powder, water and other relief item for the Department of Social 
Services; 15 carried cement for UNHCR construction projects; seven 
carried GI roofing sheets for CARE International construction sites; six 
for OXFAM; six for the Prime Minister's office; four for the Pacific 
Asia Resource Centre (PARC) to transport eight fishing boats; four full 
of bicycles for Serendib Institute of Research and Development; two with 
water purification equipment for Action Contre La Feim (ACF) and one 
each for Samaritan's Purse International Relief (SPIR) and the Centre 
for Peace Building and Reconciliation (CPBR). IOM lorries also made 126 
trips during the period transporting various building materials and 
livelihood assistance to IOM construction sites in tsunami-affected 
areas throughout the country.

Food security

WFP is proposing to reduce the total number of planned beneficiaries by 
twenty per cent under the continuing general food distribution, bringing 
the monthly planned number to around 730,000 from 910,000. The matter 
has been informally discussed with various Government Agents in the 
districts, but is yet to be formally proposed to senior authorities at 
the Ministry of Relief, Reconciliation and Rehabilitation. WFP's 
rationale to reduce the numbers is based on the actual monitoring data 
collected and analyzed so far, which shows that an average of 730,000 
people are receiving assistance each month. Each district is being 
reviewed individually and therefore beneficiary reduction would vary 
from district to district. The second round of government food and cash 
coupons have been released and are now being distributed to 
beneficiaries. These will provide food for 10 weeks up to the end of 
August, after which WFP's general food distribution will be 
discontinued. Numbers are still being collected on the amounts of 
coupons distributed to beneficiaries in each district; distribution 
began on 11 June. Old coupons, from the first round, will no longer be 
honored thus avoiding retroactive food distribution. WFP has began to 
lay the ground work required for the Vulnerable Group Feeding expected 
to commence in September; this includes revision of beneficiaries, 
ration cards and mechanisms for distribution. General Food Distribution, 
Food-for-Education and Mother and Child Nutrition projects are 
continuing in all the districts.

Health

IOM Community Health Surveillance Officers (CHSOs) in Matara, Ampara and 
Trincomalee continued to monitor health care determinants and facilitate 
access to health care services for tsunami-affected populations in 
IOM-supported IDP camps and host communities. In Ampara district for 
example, following an alert by the local authorities of cases of 
diarrhoea in Thrikkovil DS division, IOM helped investigate the reported 
cases and confirmed the presence of 'Hepatitis A'. In an effort to 
prevent the disease, IOM in collaboration with other international 
agencies and authorities conducted a health education campaign 
addressing personal and environmental hygiene in Thrikkovil DS division. 
In Matara, IOM identified 3 cases of chickenpox at the IOM constructed 
Solis camp. Referrals were made for treatment and measures were taken to 
control the disease. In addition, a health education program on personal 
hygiene and water borne diseases was held at the Solis Camp on the 2 
June. Twenty-seven participants representing 30 families residing in the 
camp attended the programme. The programme was implemented by IOM in 
Collaboration with Rural Friends, a local NGO. In Matara, 80 first aid 
kits were procured and distributed amongst IOMsupported IDP camps in the 
district.

Non-food items and shelter

IOM opened a transitional accommodation site at the Kalamulla Carpentry 
School site in Kalutara on 9 June. It includes 60 units with water, 
sanitation and electricity facilities.Forty IOM beneficiaries have 
already been handed keys to their new transitional accommodations. 
Construction of a community centre and pre-school for the residents is 
underway. To date IOM has completed transitional accommodations for 
1,278 tsunami-affected families and a total of 4,728 individuals are at 
present residing in their new transitional accommodations. A further 655 
transitional accommodations are currently under construction. At 
present, land has been allocated for IOM to construct a total of 3,089 
transitional accommodations on various sites in the country. IOM is 
committed to undertake further construction as land is allocated.

IOM in collaboration with other lead shelter agencies and the Government 
Agent organized and implemented a Public Information campaign from 30 
May-3 June in Matara district in an attempt to identify any existing 
accommodation gaps. The objective of the campaign was to educate the 
public of their entitlements to transitional accommodations. The 
campaign was a success and resulted in hundreds of transitional 
accommodation applications from the district. The applications are 
currently in the process of being verified for eligibility.

Education

Save the Children in Sri Lanka that in Trincomalee 868 pre-school 
children and 28 teachers from 20 pre-schools received child and teacher 
packs; in Ampara 8,784 yards of cloth have been handed over to sew 
school uniforms for children in six schools and in Weligama, Matara, the 
first temporary pre- school was declared open with five more under 
construction in Matara and Galle districts.

On 6 June, IOM implemented a program in Ampara, in which 2 residents of 
IOM-assisted camps distribute newspapers to 22 camps in the Akkaraipattu 
Division on a daily basis. Plans are in place to expand the project to 
other divisions in the district. IOM also distributed radios to 13 camps 
to facilitate access to information and music.

Livelihoods

FAO and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (MFAR) warn that 
there is a risk of over provision of small fishing boats in seven 
districts which could contribute to overfishing and result in long-term 
damage to the coastal fisheries resource. FAO has urged all actors in 
the fisheries sector to participate in the joint FAO - MFAR coordination 
mechanism in an effort to resolve this issue. Recent data collected 
through the joint FAO-MFAR coordination mechanism suggests an 
over-replacement of boats in Kalutare, Galle, Matara, Hambantota, 
Ampara, Batticaloa and Jaffna districts. These districts will likely see 
an increase in Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) and traditional 
fishing boats compared to fleet sizes before the tsunami. FAO has been 
assisting MFAR in monitoring the activities of NGOs and other 
organizations in the fisheries sector. A regular dialogue with NGOs is 
maintained through coordinating meetings. Some NGOs have responded 
positively to Ministry's concerns and have drastically cut down on the 
provision of new boats. These include Sewa Lanka and the British Red 
Cross. CORDAID is planning to introduce an awareness raising campaign to 
inform fishers regarding sustainable resource and ecosystem management 
as a result of consultations with MFAR.

During the first half of June, 225 tsunami-affected have received 
assistance under IOMs livelihood programme in goat farming, masonry, 
carpentry, mobile fish vending, retail trading, sewing, paddy 
cultivation, rice pounding, plumbing, welding, kerosene oil trading, 
vegetable farming, footwear, vegetable selling, mat weaving, kun fu 
training, spice picketing, cake making, ice packeting, string hopper 
making and cycle repairing. IOM has assisted 1,008 tsunami-affected 
families to restore their livelihood to date.

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