UNICEF RESPONSE TO THE INDIAN OCEAN EMERGENCY As of 12 March 2005

Transcription

1 UNICEF RESPONSE TO THE INDIAN OCEAN EMERGENCY As of 12 March 2005 OVERVIEW Early on the morning of 26 December 2004, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale struck the west coast of northern Sumatra, triggering a series of powerful tsunamis. Waves up to ten metres high slammed into the coasts of India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Seychelles, and Somalia, devastating thousands of kilometres of coastline and the communities that depended on them. The tsunami wiped away homes, schools, and health facilities; it demolished roads, bridges and power lines; it irrevocably altered the lives of millions of people. Officials estimate that more than 280,000 perished. Thousands are still missing, and at least 1,237,000 are displaced. Millions more have seen their families and communities torn apart. Tragically, UNICEF estimates that children account for more than a third of deaths. On 6 January, 2004, UNICEF, through the larger UN Consolidated Flash Appeal, announced that it would seek $144.5 million to support urgent humanitarian aid for the estimated 1.5 million affected children in South Asia. The appeal outlines how UNICEF will respond to critical and emerging needs, particularly those related to: Emergency immunization to prevent fatal childhood diseases; Supply of clean, safe water and provision of basic sanitation; Special feeding for malnourished children and pregnant women; Care for traumatized children; Protection for unaccompanied and separated children; and Provision of education kits and the rehabilitation of schools to ensure that children return to school as soon as possible. Thanks to the overwhelming support of donor governments, National Committees, and other private fundraising efforts around the world, UNICEF s Flash Appeal needs have been fully met. Additional funds are already being received for the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase. This unprecedented generosity is a testament to the international community s commitment to sustain and protect its most precious resource: its children. UNICEF is confident that this commitment will continue in the months and years to come as affected communities begin to rebuild, moving gradually from relief to rehabilitation and eventually recovery. Already, UNICEF is working in close collaboration with the affected Governments to plan for the long term. Our goal is not only to rebuild what has been destroyed, but to build back better better schools, better health facilities, and better opportunities for children. UNICEF is leading the international response in the areas of child protection, water and sanitation, and education. Over 600 staff are working to support the relief effort in eight affected countries, not to mention countless support staff in regional offices and headquarters. Many more are being recruited. This update captures major events and interventions undertaken by UNICEF and its partners for the week of 5-12 March. INDONESIA The threat of malaria has become a real concern in recent days. The risk of outbreaks is high amongst the displaced community given the widespread presence of standing water, which creates prime breeding ground for mosquitoes. Further contributing to the risk are the poor condition of shelters in temporary camps, the migration of non-immune persons into areas of high malaria prevalence, and the migration of infected persons into non-immune areas. In response, UNICEF has accelerated its distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets (see under Health and Nutrition). Water Supply and Sanitation: Coordinated efforts have begun with NGOs and other partners to address the poor sanitation and hygiene conditions in displacement camps and temporary location centres (TLCs). UNICEF has facilitated service provision to TLCs by allocating NGOs and private sector groups to cover individual sites. To date, all eighteen occupied TLCs in Aceh Besar and Banda Aceh are being covered through integrated support of water supply and sanitation. Hygiene promotion will be extended to TLCs through community-level sanitarians and volunteers from the provincial health department in the coming days. The UNICEF-supported national NGO Yayasan Dian Desa (YDD) has assisted 29 displacement camps to reach SPHERE standards. In total, 113 pour flush toilets with septic receptacles have been constructed, litre water tanks have been installed, and 78 bath shelters, 30 washing areas, and six piping systems were either 1

2 installed or repaired. These services will benefit 8,629 people. Meanwhile, de-sludging and septic tank removal in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar continues; these activities are now covering 60 sites, serving approximately 26,000 people per week. Twenty-nine sanitarians were trained in Jantho, Aceh Besar this week in an accelerated training of trainers (ToT) programme facilitated by staff from the provincial and national health departments. This training will be followed by training of a cadre of volunteers at the local level as a spin-off to hygiene campaigns. Banners have been developed and distributed in camps which promote good hygiene practices such as regularly boiling water and washing hands with soap. Hygiene supplies distributed this week include 1,700 buckets; 1,435 jerry cans; 2,493 bars of washing soap; and 1,112 sanitation kits consisting of wheel barrows, rakes, shovels, rubber gloves and brooms. A recent assessment conducted by UNICEF in Aceh Jaya identifies a need to conduct similar activities in schools. Specifically, there is an urgent need to distribute hygiene kits and construct bathing shelters and hand washing basins. These services were previously being provided by UNICEF and Flora Fauna International, an environmental NGO. However, security problems and the related issue of restricted passage are currently preventing continued service provision. In water supply, tankering activities continue, with approximately 44 trips per day being conducted. UNICEF is operating six trucks in collaboration with the Municipal Water Authority of Banda Aceh. Health and Nutrition: Together with an expert from WHO, UNICEF visited the premises of the former provincial cold store in order to update damage assessments conducted in mid-january. It was unfortunately concluded that the room is a total loss, and must be replaced with an entirely new facility. A replacement 15m3 cold room has already been ordered through UNICEF as part of the initial cold chain equipment procurement list; this unit is expected to arrive in the country during March Site visits were conducted this week to Aceh Besar, Aceh Barat and Nagan Raya districts in order to follow up on district-level supply distribution, reproductive health needs, and locations for temporary RH posts, as well as to hold discussions with government and partners. Supply distribution has been planned for a target population including displaced persons and a number of village midwives in thirteen affected districts. Supplies have been distributed to eleven districts; Sabang and Simeuleu islands were not reached due to transportation constraints. The following supplies were distributed: - 1,150 packs of 1000-litre ORS as stock, sufficient to treat approximately 1,150,000 children suffering dehydration; - 21,500 packs of 100 tablets and 21,500 bottles of syrup as stock, sufficient to treat approximately 21,500 children suffering Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI); midwifery kits to serve pregnant women in 482 villages of in eleven districts in Aceh province; - 55 emergency health kits as stock, sufficient to serve 55,000 persons for 3 months; and - 4,850 infant kits as stock, sufficient for 4,850 newborn babies. In response to growing concerns of malaria, increased distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets is planned for populations at high risk, in particular women between the ages of 20 and 35 and children under five. Children and pregnant and lactating women are most at risk of contracting malaria and the most likely to suffer from severe disease. Thus far, 37,200 nets have been distributed, and another 24,200 are planned. In nutrition, UNICEF is supporting a joint Ministry of Health/UN/NGO nutrition assessment in thirteen affected districts in Aceh province. Data collection began on 21 February and is near completion. Data entry has begun and first results are expected by end of March. A UNICEF/WHO mission travelled during the reporting period to all districts on the East Coast to supervise the survey teams. WFP has also paid a supervisory visit to Aceh Barat. UNICEF will fund the Provincial Health Office to increase the staffing and operational capacity at provincial, district and peripheral levels. This will also include training activities for nutrition response in emergencies, infant and young child feeding, and the provision of some equipment. Preparations are also underway with the Indonesian Lactation Centre to train health workers from the Ministry of Health and NGOs in various districts on infant and young child feeding, in order to improve breastfeeding practices and to control the mismanagement of infant formula. Finally, a joint UNICEF/WHO nutrition team is visiting the districts on the East Coast to assess the nutrition conditions in some of the Temporary Living Centres, and also to discuss with targeted hospitals the establishment of treatment centres for severely malnourished children. 2

3 Education: Emergency school supplies continue to be distributed in a number of districts. To date, approximately 3,000 Schools-in-a-Box have been distributed in Banda Aceh, Aceh Besar, Aceh Utara, Pidie, Aceh Jaya and Aceh Barat. In addition, 1,300 Recreation kits have been distributed in the same districts. An additional 350 Schools-in-a-Box and 50 rolls of plastic will be sent to Simeulue with support provided by Save the Children and CordAid. The safety of temporary shelters for schools are emerging as a serious concern. A number of options are being discussed between organizations and with the Department of Education; UNICEF will work with the Department of Education to identify a number of appropriate prototypes. At UNICEF s instigation, the Department of Education, both provincial and central representatives, agreed to establish a process for recognizing and addressing the issue of potentially unsafe learning spaces. The Rapid Assessment of Learning Spaces, supported by UNICEF, continues in Pidie district. Meanwhile, the first training of trainers (ToT), which will lead to the training of emergency teachers, began on 28 February. Save the Children and UNICEF are providing training materials, trainers and guidance for those components (i.e. Psychosocial, Peace Education and Active Learning) that are new to provincial authorities. In addition to the immediate trainings planned, a growing number of organizations are interested in supporting both pre-service and in-service training. A small working group consisting of UNICEF, Save the Children, IRC-CARDI and NRC- CARDI representatives have initiated a review of psychosocial teacher training materials to begin the process of developing a standard for psychosocial training in Aceh. Protection and Psychosocial Support: UNICEF believes there is a need to collect more systematic information on the status of child protection issues in temporary location centres (TLCs). To this end, a draft checklist has been prepared by UNICEF, and a core group of organizations (UNICEF, Save, IRC and CF) has agreed to collect and collate information on this issue to feed into the proposed IASC mechanism to monitor TLCs. For its part, UNICEF conducted an evaluation of all five centres along the west coast to ascertain their needs in terms of supply and on their implementation of psychosocial programmes. Seven tents, School-in-a-Box and recreation kits were given to Child Fund this week, for use in setting up Child Centres in Aceh Jaya. Preparation for psychosocial training sessions in Meulaboh and Banda Aceh were conducted this week. Training will run from Monday to Thursday of next week. Preparations for a pilot ToT with AusAid, Rivka Annisa and RPUK were also conducted this week, and an addition four-day ToT will begin early next week. UNICEF conducted the psychosocial component of the ToT for newly-recruited teachers this week; training costs for this session were supported by Save the Children Alliance. MALDIVES From the earliest stages of the relief effort, UNICEF has been mindful of the need to avoid creating disparities between communities affected by the tsunami and thus receiving aid and those not. This concern was underscored this week when the provision of water tanks and desalination units to tsunami-affected islands sparked requests from non-affected islands to be included in plans to increase availability of potable water. Water Supply and Sanitation: The first of two planned training sessions on the use and maintenance of the reverse osmosis desalination units is currently taking place in Diffushi (North Male Atoll, pop. 1005). It is being attended by ten participants from islands selected to receive the Nirosoft units. The second training session will take place in Kudahuvadoo ((Dhaalu Atoll, pop 1,480) on March. Prior to receiving the ROs, communities will have to agree on a set of management and maintenance protocols. Post-tsunami, UNICEF and other partners have focused on increasing potable water availability for island communities through the delivery of HDPE tanks for rain water harvesting and of ROs for the desalination of ocean water. The distribution lists for the tanks and RO units is based on needs of tsunami affected islands. However, islands which have not been selected to receive these items are requesting that they also be included. So far, Maldives has received three RO units from Singapore, 23 from UNICEF, three from Oxfam and three from Germany. We have been informed that the Red Cross will provide ten additional units. In light of concerns raised by non-affected islands, UNICEF and the Maldives Water and Sanitation Authority have revised the distribution list for HDPE tanks to include additional islands. However, UNICEF has insisted that in all cases, priority distribution of water tanks on islands should be given to schools and health centers. 3

4 Protection: During the reporting period UNICEF, IDD/OCHA and the Government s IDP unit visited seven islands hosting displaced persons. The assessment confirmed that while the situation for these people is adequate, the concern related to overcrowding remains, since the government is assigning two families (up to sixteen people) per housing unit. Displaced persons are particularly unhappy with this situation, and in a few instances have moved back (temporarily) to their island of origin where services such as school and health are not available. Nevertheless, in its de-briefing to the UNCT, the IDD/OCHA team noted that Maldives can be used as a best practice example in comparison with other tsunami-affected countries. Key findings and issues discussed: 1. Safe island concept needs to be more transparent and explained to the residents and the donors. The Government of Maldives reiterated its commitment to adhere to voluntary relocation. 2. Overcrowding in temporary accommodation falls short of international minimum sphere standards, however sanitation facilities meet the required international standards. 3. Lack of adequate information provided to islanders (about their entitlement, duration of stay, etc.) 4. Lack of adequate community participation in the assessment of needs and programmes relating to their own welfare. 5. Government of Maldives has adopted a top-down approach (such as a policy of rebuilding houses and handing them over to communities) 6. The question of long-term housing must be addressed, in order to reduce time lag for rebuilding as much as possible 7. Need for better data. No consistency when citing registration figures. 8. Constraints in funding (shelter being the least-funded project of the Flash Appeal) is hampering the return to normalcy, with resulting psychological impact. SRI LANKA The second phase of the needs assessment led by international financial institutions (IFIs) which will lead to the formulation of the Recovery and Reconstruction Plan will be launched this week with visits to the field by inter-agency teams with Government participation. The focus of this second phase is to establish implementation mechanisms to respond to the needs identified in the initial damage assessment. A two-day training of team members took place last week, in which three UNICEF staff participated. One UNCEF staff member will act as team leader for the Killinochchi/Mullativu team; the two others are members of the teams for Galle and Hambantota. Water Supply and Sanitation: UNICEF participated in a joint assessment of a waste dumpsite in the Samanthurai DS Division of Ampara with partners from the Ministry of Health, GOAL and Solidarite. Current disposal methods of solid waste from emergency pit latrines at the site were found to be an environmental hazard. The assessment team recommended that wastes at the site should be burned or buried immediately. It also recommended that new dumping sites be identified in the district, in consultation with the Central Environmental Authority. UNICEF highlighted its concerns about the safe disposal of human waste in its water and sanitation survey report released at the end of February. UNICEF zone offices have committed to providing water and sanitation facilities in a number of identified transit shelter locations. In Jaffna, where UNICEF will provide facilities in four of the eighteen sites, the zone office is now reviewing estimates and structure drawings for latrines submitted by government counterparts. In Batticaloa, UNICEF has undertaken, in collaboration with volunteers of Oxfam CEVAW Women s Network, consultations with displaced persons in Aarayampathy East Camp regarding water and sanitation points in the camp. Consultations with displaced persons in other camps are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks. The zone office in Batticaloa is also exploring ways to better address waste disposal in the camps as district authorities do not appear to have the means to respond adequately. Health and Nutrition: On 7 March, UNICEF signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Health for the rehabilitation/reconstruction of health facility units in 34 locations in ten districts. This will result in improved facilities for delivery, neo-natal and primary health care (including cold chain) services. The Ministry of Health will implement a UNICEF-supported vitamin A supplementation campaign in tsunamiaffected districts on 2 April. This campaign is being conducted as a follow-up action to the joint MRI/WFP/UNICEF nutrition survey, which indicated that only 23 percent of children in camps had received vitamin A supplementation over the last six months. The campaign will target all children in tsunami-affected districts. Over 463,000 children aged six months to five years will benefit from vitamin A supplementation. 4

5 Education: The Ministry of Education (MoE) has allocated two additional schools to UNICEF for reconstruction, bringing the total number of schools to nineteen. One of the additional schools is a Type 3 school with 546 students in Hambantota; the second is a Type 1AB school with 2,104 students in Galle. The total number of students at these nineteen schools is estimated at 8,500. The estimated budget for reconstruction of the schools stands at approximately US$11.6 million. The MoE has also released a list of thirteen schools that have yet to be taken up by any donor. Temporary classrooms continue to be constructed in many districts. In Killinochchi/Mullativu, five temporary buildings are already completed, and work is on-going on an additional five. In Batticaloa, all temporary school buildings in the Paddiruppu Education Zone are expected to be completed this week. One temporary building is already being used by students. In Jaffna, the request to construct 109 temporary classrooms in LTTE- and Government-controlled areas has been approved. The ZDE Vadamarachchi advertised for bids last week. The zone office in Ampara is awaiting approval for the construction of 67 semi-permanent classrooms. Meanwhile, sites for the 40 temporary classrooms in Kalmunai have been identified; another 27 sites in Akkaraipattu are being finalized. Finally, some 114,571 school bags were dispatched to the districts last week. Protection and Psycho-Social Support: In response to requests from NGOs and civil society, UNICEF has developed tsunami awareness materials for use in children s clubs, community groups and in schools. The materials include a number of posters designed to facilitate discussion among children and parents about natural disasters, and about their questions and fears relating to the tsunami. Fifty posters will be tested in the field prior to printing the total materials, numbering 5,000. Facilitator guidelines have also been developed to assist in the use of the posters. Of 1,114 separated children, some 1,128 of them are with long-term care givers, of which 70 have court orders processed legalising their long-term care arrangements. UNICEF is supporting child protection authorities to find appropriate solutions for the sixteen children that are not with long-term care givers. In response to concerns that child sponsorship schemes developed by different actors are not equitable, UNICEF has been working to streamline the various schemes. It has now drafted comprehensive guidelines on sponsorship that will be submitted to the Ministry of Social Welfare for release to all stakeholders. Children s club activities took place in a total of seventeen sites of Jaffna, including both camps and villages. Children s clubs established in camps are now moving to new sites and villages as populations move out of the camps. UNICEF has also been assisting staff of the children s mobile unit, which is touring the district through 5 March. The mobile unit visited some 40 different villages. Activities conducted by the unit included various games for different age groups and the presentation of films. Significant progress has been made in mainstreaming psychosocial activities within the education sector. UNICEF sponsored a one-day teacher support workshop on 7 March to provide refresher training on psychosocial approaches to 150 school advisors already trained by the Ministry of Education prior to the tsunami. Among other techniques, the advisors will be taught how to facilitate group discussions with teachers working in tsunami-affected districts. In Jaffna, the national NGO Shantiham conducted a half-day workshop for 25 participants from UNICEF partner organizations on 3 March. The objective of the workshop was to share the community-based approach, including the formation of core groups, with social workers for use with affected populations. The core group strategy involves the formation of groups of fifteen to twenty persons in a village trained on how to identify, assist and refer persons in need of psychosocial support. Also under the community-based approach, children s clubs, youth and women s groups will be established. Many of the new UNICEF partners have focused on individual support and counselling in the past. UNICEF staff in Jaffna also attended a three-day protection and psychosocial training organized by Save the Children. Training participants consisted of probation officers, staff from the Department of Child Protection and thirteen different NGOs. The distribution of family and recreation kits in the districts is on-going. In Ampara, the zone office has procured additional items, including 8,000 exercise books, to complement the family and education kits it has received. In Jaffna, the zone office will be supplying wooden play blocks for pre-schools that have opened in temporary camps. Children living in the camps and in surrounding areas will have access to the pre-schools. 5