OCHA Situation Report
Sri Lanka
20 - 26 August 2005


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Overall Situation

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga on 22 August at a ceremony 
at her official residence commended the Transitional Accommodation 
Project (TAP) of the Task Force for Relief (TAFOR) for completing 50,000 
temporary houses for tsunami victims in a short time, calling it a great 
achievement for which TAFOR Chairman Tilak Ranaviraja and his officials 
should be credited.  She also thanked UN agencies and NGOs and others 
for helping TAFOR with this success and she presented congratulatory 
plaques to UNDP, UNHCR, IOM and WFP.

The second round of the joint nutrition survey undertaken by the Medical 
Research Institute, UNICEF and the World Food Programme that covered 12 
tsunami-affected districts and 1,500 children from three types of 
families (i.e. children of internally displaced families living in 
camps, displaced people living with host families and children of 
non-displaced families) was conducted in June to track the changes in 
the health and nutrition status of children since the first round survey 
conducted in January. Preliminary findings of the survey reveal that: 
36.2% of children of internally displaced families still living in the 
camps were underweight up from the 34.9% documented in the first round 
survey. Amongst the same population group, acute malnutrition also rose 
from 16% documented in the first round survey to 18.3% in the second 
round survey. The incidence of diarrhoeal disease and acute respiratory 
infection which were as high as 17.6% and 69.2% in the first round 
survey had dropped to 10.4% and 41.3% respectively in the second round 
survey. The survey identified the children of internally displaced 
people still living in the camps as the most vulnerable group. Prior to 
the tsunami this population group was predominantly dependant on 
fishing. To date, fishing contributed to a mere 5% of their income. 
Relief assistance is currently their major source of income.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the 
launch of the U.S. government's Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System 
(IOTWS) program in response to the December 2004 tsunami disaster. The 
two-year, $16.6 million effort will contribute to the development of 
integrated early warning and mitigation systems that allow countries in 
the Indian Ocean region to detect and prepare for tsunamis and related 
coastal hazards.

The program involves a number of key U.S. agencies, each contributing 
specialized expertise in tsunami warning and disaster management. The 
U.S. program involves close collaboration with the Intergovernmental 
Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the United Nations Educational, 
Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).  The IOC has the lead 
responsibility for developing the Indian Ocean's regional warning 
capabilities.  At the national and local levels, U.S. technical 
assistance will primarily support efforts in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, 
India, Thailand and the Maldives - the countries most severely affected 
by the December 2004 disaster where over 220,000 people perished.

Health

WFP reports that under its school feeding programme, 111, 476 children 
in 550 schools received mid-morning meals last month. In the WFP Mother 
and Child Nutrition programe, 200,000 pregnant and nursing mothers and 
children under five received fortified Corn Soya Blend.

An update on hygiene promotion activities by UNICEF and its partners: In 
Jaffna, community hygiene committees have been formed in 18 IDP camps. 
In addition, DPDHS in collaboration with UNICEF and WHO is conducting 
drama programmes to promote hygienic practices in IDP camps with the 
Active Theatre Movement. UNICEF's support to the programme includes the 
provision of posters and stickers and WHO is financially supporting the 
drama activities. In Trincomalee, leading water and sanitation agencies 
are assessing a collaborative approach to the implementation of hygiene 
promotion activities and the distribution of the UNICEF water, 
sanitation and hygiene promotion posters for IDP camps. Distribution of 
Meena water and sanitation materials for schools has also commenced. In 
Matara, hygiene education materials including 3,900 wall charts in three 
languages and 2,500 stickers in Sinhala were distributed to schools and 
health institutions. In Batticaloa, UNICEF is collaborating with the 
Ministry of Health in order to distribute hygiene promotion materials in 
schools. In addition, UNICEF Batticaloa organised a joint two-day 
workshop for selected hygiene committees on 6 and 7 August with the 
Ministry of Health and Merlin, on improving health and hygiene promotion 
activities in IDP camps. The workshop focused on the five core hygiene 
messages; maternal and child health; germs; and water and sanitation 
related diseases. Hygiene promotion posters were also distributed as 
part of the exercise.

Non-food items and shelter

The Transitional Accommodation Project (TAP) office in collaboration 
with UNICEF, UNHCR, IOM and other agencies involved in transitional 
shelter arrangements, is working upon the upgrading of the shelter units 
and improving the provision of water and sanitation facilities in the 
transitional shelter sites. Agreement has also been reached as to the 
procedure for formalizing the water and sanitation upgrade on 
transitional shelters with the Deputy Provincial Director Health 
Services (DPDHS), TAP, UNHCR and UNICEF.

Livelihoods

A total of 600 WFP Food-for-Work rehabilitation activities/projects 
requiring 5,252 MT of food were approved during the month of July. These 
projects will be implemented during July to December and will benefit 
138,000 people from 26,974 participating families. In WFP's Food for 
Training programme, nine projects are now ongoing. The projects are 
implemented by WUSC, BAJ and by local government officials. During the 
month of July a total 3,098 participants have received food and skills 
training under the WFP assisted FFT programme.

Save the Children in Sri Lanka (SCiSL) provided 65 beneficiaries in 
Matara, Weligama, Dikwella and Devinuwara cash grants ranging from 7,500 
to 15,000 rupees per person to recover their livelihood activities which 
include fishing, tailoring, fruit and vegetable vending and grocery 
stores.

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