OCHA Situation Report
Sri Lanka
3 - 17 August 2006


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Overall Situation

Due to the prevalent uncertain security situation in most districts in 
the North-East routine relief operations are limited. On Wednesday there 
was a harthal (work stoppage) in the districts of Trincomalee, Ampara, 
Batticaloa and Vauvniya. On the same day artillery shelling continued 
during the day and at night time in Killinochchi

Daily situation reports on ongoing activities in the north-east can be 
found at the link below.

http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/srilanka/catalogue/Catalogues.aspx?CatID=60

Steven Mann, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State was in 
Sri Lanka 16 and 17 August and visited President Mahinda Rajapakse and 
other government officials.

On 7 August the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) 
officially commenced work on a state-of-the-art bridge over Arugam Bay. 
The new bridge will replace the original bridge that was devastated in 
the tsunami and is the single largest infrastructure project in USAID's 
Sri Lanka Tsunami Reconstruction Programme (SLTRP).

Health

UNICEF recently donated one ambulance for the Veravil hospital in 
Kilinochchi.

IOM recently conducted a five-day capacity building programme for health 
service workers working in tsunami and rural areas of Mullaitivu.

Non-food items and shelter

In Killinochchi, the initial housing works for Maamunai and 
Chempiyanpattu, where 43 tsunami-affected and 246 conflict-affected 
houses has been completed by UNHABITAT, which is the implementing 
partner of the Australian Red Cross.

In Ampara IOM has identified 54 vacant transitional shelters which can 
be used as temporary shelters should the need arise for shelter for new 
conflict IDPs. These shelters are in Kalmunai Tamil and Kalmunai Muslim 
divisions.

Education

The first school building completed under the UNICEF-supported Schools 
Infrastructure Reconstruction Programme was opened 17 August in 
Balapitiya in Galle. Approximately three hundred children at the 
Balapitiya Siddhartha Primary School can now able to learn and enjoy 
themselves in 14 new classrooms, a play room and an activity room. New 
water and sanitation facilities have been provided along with a canteen, 
administration block and assembly hall. These facilities were designed 
to create a child friendly learning environment where interactive 
teaching and child participation help children fully develop their 
potentials. This child friendly approach is applied to all school 
reconstruction under this UNICEF-supported reconstruction programme.

UNICEF has decided to draw together three more schools in each division 
in Ampara for their child friendly school concept where educational and 
sports equipment was distributed to all these schools.

UNICEF gave musical instruments amounting to Rs. 600,000 for Mine Risk 
Education to the NGO White Pigeon on 9 August.

GTZ withdrew their commitment to build three tsunami-affected schools in 
Mullaitivu district due to the prevalent political situation.

Livelihoods

The Killinochchi Chamber of Commerce recently assisted fisherman in the 
Poonakary area to harvest sea cucumber.

Under the ILO CBTREE (Skills Development for Economic Empowerment and 
Creation of Livelihoods) programme, its Technical Working Group has 
endorsed ten proposals for the Kalmunai (Tamil) Division for welding 
works, preparation of sweets, snack food and fruit-juices, bakery 
services, dress making, fabric painting, coir-based products, grinding 
mills services and ornamental leather-goods making. The selected 
trainers for these projects have undergone a half-a-day training session 
which included developing a training syllabus, and conducting training 
for adults. A training session for these ten enterprises will be 
conducted during the first week of September and a total of 39 males and 
94 females of Kalmunai (Tamil) Division will benefit from this training.

The ILO IRTAP (Income Recovery Technical Assistance Programme) had the 
inaugural meeting of the National Steering Committee for the Coir sector 
(NASCOIR) on 10 August with the facilitation of RADA and ILO. The main 
objective of this committee is to bring together the key actors involved 
in the coir sector such as government bodies, private sector exporters, 
millers and producers and INGOs to develop a national strategy and 
polices which are holistic and sustainable for the development of the 
sector. Through this committee it is envisaged to establish district 
committees that can bring localized issues to be resolved at district or 
at national level. As a result of NASCOIR, the District Committee for 
Matara was established on 11 August to prepare the strategic plan for 
the district.

Annex

Summary of the main tsunami programmes supported by the Italian 
Department of Civil Protection

Health Sector:

Runs a camp hospital in Kinniya through the NGO, AISPO. The hospital has 
a catchments area of 85,000 people. A new hospital is being built in 
Kinniya. Furthermore medical equipment has been donated to the hospitals 
in Muttur, where the Italian NGO, AFMAL has been engaged in its health 
management. AFMAL has also been supporting the management of the 
hospital in Trincomalee with a catchment's area of 65,000 inhabitants.

Education:

Reconstructing primary and secondary level school buildings for a global 
target of about 3,700 pupils. The following buildings are under 
construction.

- three schools in Muttur
- two schools in Kinniya (one through the NGO, CESVI)
- one school in Pulmoddai
- one school in Kokkilai
- one orphanage in Trincomalee
- one school in Vallaithoddam


Housing

The housing programme included the reconstruction of 405 buildings, 
which are now hosting about 2,430 families in the following areas:

- Kalampattai (through the NGO, VIS)
- Kumburupitti (through the NGO, GVC)
- Nilaveli (through the NGO, VIS)
- Muttur (through the NGO, COSV)


Social sector:

The Italian NGOs, CESVI, MAGIS, INTERSOS, MISERICORDIE, AIBI, ETIMOS are 
implementing several social projects. These projects include among 
others the provision of micro-credit, psycho-social support, fisheries 
development and training.

Water and Sanitation:

The Italian "Instituto Superiore di Sanita" is implementing a programme 
in the field of water and sanitation in collaboration with the National 
Water Board. The project aims at assessing health risks related to the 
environmental water and to food intake, as well as the social and 
economic status of families affected by the tsunami.

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