OCHA Situation Report No. 38
Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Thailand and Seychelles: Earthquake and Tsunami OCHA Situation Report No. 38
Ref: OCHA/GVA - 2005/0076 - Web link // PDF Document
Date: 29.04.2005

The earthquake-tsunami, which struck on 26 December 2004, was one of the most devastating natural disasters ever. The response, from every quarter, has been swift and extraordinarily generous. The need for accountability, first to the people whose lives were ruined by this catastrophe, and second to the millions of people around the world who have provided resources, has never been so apparent.

This Mid-Term Review has four aims. First, to note what one set of actors - the United Nations and its partners - has done to respond during the first three months following the calamity. As such, the document reviews where things stood at the launch of the United Nations Flash Appeal for the Indian Ocean Earthquake-Tsunami and what progress has been made in addressing the relief and early recovery requirements assessed in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

Second, the document outlines the current situation and people's needs for relief and early recovery programmes until the end of 2005. The focus continues on key requirements of a regional nature and those more specific to Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Somalia, and Sri Lanka. There is good news on this front: most of the people whose lives were shattered on 26 December 2004 are now well beyond survival.

Third, the Mid-Term Review maps how the United Nations and its partners will work over the coming months to address relief and early recovery priorities identified in the field. The review demonstrates how current actions are linked to reconstruction and development expected throughout the coming years. Indeed, the notion of a linear progression "from relief to development" was debunked in the mid-1990s and it is important to note that Governments in the stricken countries have made significant progress to assess reconstruction needs and to develop programmes addressing them. The Governments, supported by the World Bank and the United Nations (UN), are in the process of outlining medium- and long-term plans. For example, in the case of India, the UN System has issued a "Recovery Framework in Support of the Government of India for a Post-Tsunami Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Programme." In Sri Lanka, it is expected that a 24-month UN Transitional Strategy from relief to recovery will be drafted by the end of May, which apart from being a programming and coordination instrument, will also be used as a fund-raising tool to approach donors. Agencies, whose programmes differ in nature from the relief and early recovery programmes in this Flash Appeal, are partaking in the upcoming Sri Lanka exercise. Other countries struck by the earthquake-tsunami will shortly issue country-specific papers which highlight the role and value added of UN agencies, funds, and programmes over the medium-term.

Finally, the document shows the amounts of money disbursed during the past months and required to implement the priority programmes until the end of this year. In most cases, the UN and its partners do not seek more money and pledge to use existing resources strategically and efficiently with increasing emphasis on shelter, livelihoods, and recovery. While the sum of unmet requirements currently totals US$ 216 million, agencies and non-governmental organisations note that unallocated donor pledges total US$ 95 million. In terms of financial resources, the priority is to match unmet requirements with unallocated pledges. Doing so should enable UN agencies and their partners to meet the remaining relief and early recovery needs of some 5 million people in seven countries.

Any new resources for relief above and beyond those available already should now be directed to the needs of some 30 million people affected by crises in parts of Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.

In the early stages of the tsunami disaster, regional coordination of logistics, procurement, humanitarian coordination, information systems, resources allocation, and management were essential to respond to the vast needs throughout the tsunami affected areas. During the first three months of the Flash Appeal, projects were implemented in the areas of food aid, joint logistics and air services, coordination, regional health, technical support, early warning systems, management, monitoring and evaluation, protection and human rights, capacity building, and security for humanitarian operations.

Since the launch of the Flash Appeal, thousands of metric tons of food have been delivered. Regional logistic support services ensured the safe passage of aid workers and relief items by ground, sea, and air. Early warning systems to rapidly detect, investigate and respond to outbreaks of communicable diseases were established in all affected countries. Worldwide recognition and support generated concrete steps to the creation of a natural disaster early warning system. Numerous coordination meetings, press statements, and donor meetings were held. Action was taken quickly to respond to the needs of disaster-stricken communities suffering from multiple physical, social, economic and psychological impacts. Assessments were made in many sectors to identify present and future needs and activities addressing early recovery of livelihoods have been initiated.

Three months later, a regional response is still essential. However the regional priorities in the Mid Term Review represent an overall recognition of the need to plan for the transition from emergency relief activities to longer-term recovery and reconstruction needs. The regional projects are sensitive to the fact that the timeline for this transition will not be the same in each country. For example, while in some countries relief efforts continue, in Thailand after the immediate emergency needs were met, rehabilitation and reconstruction activities started quickly. Projects continue to address the humanitarian needs of affected populations and vulnerable groups such as women, children, minorities and migrant workers. Health initiatives are now moving from emergency relief work towards rehabilitation and recovery of health systems and services. The current projects also emphasise the need for sustainable environmental restoration efforts that support rapid livelihood recovery, longer-term poverty alleviation and environmental protection goals. Support for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus/Acquired Immuno-deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) interventions has emerged as a new priority need as the rapid recovery and reconstruction process threatens to increase exposure risk. As part of its revised priorities, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) will collaborate with development partners to ensure that the transition from relief to recovery is coordinated.

The Royal Thai Government has not requested direct financial assistance and thus does not wish to be included in the Flash Appeal directly. However the UN technical assistance activities undertaken in partnership with the Royal Thai Government have been included in the Regional Section of the Flash Appeal, as agreed with the Government.

The funding requested for regional-level aid activities amounts to US$ 438 million.