OCHA Situation Report
Sri Lanka
27 April - 3 May 2006


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Overall Situation

The Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery Mr. Eric Schwartz visits 
Sri Lanka between 4-6 May to assess progress made.

Some 300 participants participated in the UNESCO conference in Colombo 
for World Press Freedom Day on 3 May.  They adopted a declaration 
calling for freedom of the press to be recognized as a core element in 
development strategies.

Main challenges and response

The Care and Maintenance sector has been neglected in Ampara for over 
six months due to uncertainty in funds from TAP (Transitional 
Accommodation) / IOM and other donor agencies. TAP no longer exists, and 
on 27 April, IOM re-convened the TS discussions with agencies which are 
willing to undertake Care and Maintenance programmes in Ampara District. 
The latest IOM figures indicate a total of 4,269 shelters in 60 sites. 
OCHA Ampara reports that in TS discussions it was clear that many sites 
have not been included in this final number, including those belonging 
to Sewa Lanka and Oxfam Australia. Because of the lack of current 
information on TS in Ampara, the C&M Working Group will undergo a 
cross-referencing of IOM data and OCHA/HIC TSST to ensure that the 
working figures are the same for everybody. IOM plan to take on the Care 
and Maintenance responsibilities of any sites that have no willing 
agency. The Working Group hopes to verify and get the latest TS 
information within two weeks. OCHA will assist the process by 
cross-referencing with the existing TSST data.

Coordination and common services

UN Inter-Agency teams conducted on 28 April 2006, in cooperation and in 
partnership with national and international NGOs, preliminary joint 
assessment missions in order to establish humanitarian needs and 
vulnerabilities around Muthur and Eachilampattai in Trincomalee 
district, which might have emerged after 24 April 2006. Some 6,252 
families totaling 21,554 people are currently displaced as a result of 
the escalation of violence starting April 11. The UN agencies started 
immediate deliveries of aid to affected areas. They are working in full 
cooperation with the Government Task Force chaired by Governor 
Wijewickrama in order to assist government relief efforts, as well as 
with NGO partners and the Red Cross Movement. The Inter-Agency 
Consolidated report (last updated on 2 May) is posted online at 
http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/srilanka/docs/Sri%20Lanka_Consolidated_Report_Trincomlaee_Displacement-April%202006.pdf


The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) was activated on 27 April. 
The IASC is an inter-agency forum for coordination, policy development 
and decision-making involving the key UN and non-UN humanitarian 
partners.  A second meeting is scheduled for 4 May to follow-up on the 
situation in Trincomalee, the assessment of humanitarian needs and 
on-going response.

The outcome of the 20 April and 22 April meetings between INGOs and the 
Ampara District Secretariat and Muslim Leaders was that the GA and the 
GoSL Security Forces agreed to pass on messages to their officers in the 
field for appropriate checkpoint behaviour, and a reminder to the 
Divisional Secretaries to keep vigilant and report of any incidents of 
misconduct of international organizations. It was conveyed by the GA 
that if any staff are threatened they should report to the police 
immediately and the Security Forces will take action. The GA also 
requested that all INGOs review their conduct to ensure there is nothing 
untoward going on in their agencies.

The deadline 25 April, for women NGOs workers to resign in Batticaloa 
district passed without any major incidents although some sporadic 
tension still remain among targeted INGOs. OCHA Batticaloa field office 
reports that several INGOs sent their international staff to Colombo 
under precautionary and temporary measures. No offices have been closed 
and the programmes are still running with the assistance of national 
staff.

In an effort to continue strengthening the under-resourced capacity of 
local and district government levels, FAO provided a package of 
assistance to the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR) 
in the form of computers and associated equipment on April 28.

Food security

The Government is providing one weeks food rations to the current 
caseload of displaced in Trincomalee District.  WFP with the Ministry of 
Nation Building and Development are moving "buffer stocks" to the area.

Health

World Vision recently distributed Samaposha packages (high protein food) 
to 545 pregnant and lactating mothers in Batticaloa.

Water and sanitation

In Batticaloa World Vision has started the construction of 300 tube 
wells in Kaluwanchikudy DS Division while construction of 90 permanent 
toilets at Chetipalayam, 50 at Kaluthawalai and 50 at Kaluwanchikudy are 
ongoing. World Vision is currently conducting a survey with the 
collaboration of Predeshiya Saba and Divisional Secretariat to evaluate 
the ground situation in Kaluwanchikudy DS Division, in order to further 
construct a drainage system that would remedy the flooding experienced 
almost every year.

In Ampara temporary measures have been taken to dump all human waste at 
Sammanturai. World Vision will be doing a permanent dumping site and 
other actors will be contributing with building a culvert and roads to 
this site. UNICEF and OXFAM GB are concerned of the on-going 
construction of houses by organizations in sites where there is no 
solution for water supply within the next three years. Urgent discussion 
on this matter needs to be followed up as soon as possible. This was 
delayed due to the security incidents which postponed the discussions.

The Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) has completed the 
construction of 25 houses out of 275 houses in Mullaitivu while 
construction of 125 toilets and 44 is complete. The TRO is still 
overseeing the camp management of all tsunami camps in Jaffna and the 
Vanni.

Non-food items and shelter

A special meeting for Home-Owner Driven Housing headed by the GA on 25 
April and facilitated by IOM; IOM announced that they will be stepping 
down as the lead agency for the sector on 11 May. Talks are under way 
for Help from Germany or UN Habitat to be the lead agency. At the 
meeting the GA explained the government definition for a partly damaged 
and fully damaged house. If a house is damaged more than 40 per cent 
that house is fully damaged, otherwise it is a partially damaged house.

The GA stressed that INGOs should concentrate on fully damaged houses as 
the government has paid 100,000 rupees for a partially damaged house and 
said that was sufficient to repair the house. UN Habitat is building 
6,000 houses in the district which will be more than half of what is 
needed in the district. The GA further stated that any agency can find 
their own beneficiary but stressed that agencies should inform the NERPH 
and the Divisional Secretaries.

Twenty three permanent houses constructed at Nanatota, Balapitiya have 
been handed over to beneficiaries by the Lions Club of Nugegoda on 22 
April.

In Galle two site level workshops were carried out at Katugoda and 
Kanampitiya by Norwegian Refugee (NRC) Council recently. NRC reported 
that workshops were successful due to strong participation of community 
members. Data collection for TSST (Transitional Shelter Site Tracking) 
is being carried out by NRC. So far information has been collected from 
45 sites in all divisions except for Balapitiya.

Education

Recently World Vision Lanka laid the foundation stone for two 
tsunami-affected schools in Batticaloa District. "Catch-up Education" 
classes for low achievers started for Grade 4 & 5 children in 
Malayarkattu & Sinnawatte schools in Batticaloa and the Zonal Director 
of Education of Kalkudah started "Catch-up Education" classes for 450 
school drop-outs with UNICEF support.

Livelihoods

As part of ILO's CB-TREE project (Skills Development for Economic 
Empowerment and Creation of Livelihoods) a workshop on community 
planning and technical working group in Ampara District is underway with 
21 participants from Pothuvil, Kalmunai, Karaithivu and Sainthamaruthu 
DS Divisions including five local NGOs.

The Divisional Secretary of Kalmunai (Tamil Division) has agreed to 
register the community group for the establishment of the community 
fund. Amidst civil disturbance in pockets of Ampara District, the 
project activities are progressing. All materials needed for project 
implementation are being translated to local languages for the use of 
partner agencies and communities.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) 
distributed 500 fishing nets and associated fishing gear including 
ropes, twine and floats to 25 tsunami-affected fishers from the district 
of Batticaloa on April 28. Each beneficiary received two sets of fishing 
gear suitable for tuna long-line fishing. The total value of the 50 kits 
handed out was just over US$10,000.

FAO is currently distributing an additional 119 sets of fishing gear to 
87 beneficiaries in the southern district of Matara. Some 988 nets form 
part of the total aid package being handed over to these beneficiaries. 
This distribution of fishing gear brings the total number of fishing 
nets distributed to 44 612, with altogether 4,025 fishers having 
benefited in eight coastal districts. FAO's overall fisheries-related 
assistance foresees the distribution of some 95,000 fishing nets in all.

Noselemu Appi a local NGO has provided training in sewing for 12 
beneficiaries whilst another 20 beneficiaries have been selected for 
future trainings. The organization is to provide sewing machines to 
these trained beneficiaries and garments produced are to be sold to 
tourist hotels.

University of Colombo is in the process of completing the Divisional 
Livelihood Recovery Plan of Ambalangoda. The plan for Bentota division 
is almost complete whilst its revalidation has to be done.

The Divisional Livelihood Development Planning process, facilitated by 
the RADA Livelihood Unit and supported by the ILO-IRTAP (Income Recovery 
Technical Assistance Programme) has been finalized in 14 divisions in 
Hambantota, Galle, Killinochichi and Jaffna, and is ongoing in 17 
divisions in Ampara and Batticaloa but is encountering delays in 
Trincomalee. Draft divisional livelihood development plans are currently 
under review by RADA and ILO and will be submitted to the District 
Secretaries shortly for endorsement. The Coordination and Planning 
System (CAPS), which is the district livelihood supply database, is 
operational in Galle, Ampara, Hambantota, Matara and Trincomalee with 
positive results. Once a comprehensive DAD district database has been 
developed and introduced, CAPS will be incorporated into this.

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