USAID Funds IOM Return and Resettlement Operations in Northern Sri Lanka

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced US$3 million in new funding to support IOM’s return and resettlement operations targeting some 77,000 internally displaced people in the north of the country.

The assistance will include transport to allow IDPs to return to their home districts; emergency shelter kits to build temporary housing and transitional shelters; water and sanitation facilities; and the provision of emergency health services across the region.

“Our focus is on vulnerable families, such as female-headed households, the elderly and the disabled. By improving access to shelter, and providing clean water and health care, USAID is providing some of the critical services these people need to begin to rebuild their lives,” said U.S. Ambassador Patricia A. Butenis.

"Thousands of displaced families are returning to their home districts with very little by way of shelter, water, sanitation and basic health services. IOM will tailor this assistance to plug the gaps and meet the most immediate needs in these areas," said IOM Sri Lanka Chief of Mission Mohammed Abdi Ker.

Since the humanitarian emergency following the end of the war against the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) in May 2009, IOM has assisted the Sri Lankan authorities in providing emergency shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, and primary health care to thousands of IDPs, mainly in the Menik Farm displacement camp in Vavuniya district.

In late 2009 IOM scaled up its emergency operations at the request of the government to help over 100,000 IDPs return to their home districts from the camp, which previously housed over a quarter of a million people.

There are currently more than 93,000 IDPs remaining in the camp, many of whom are waiting for permission to return home, pending de-mining and removal of unexploded wartime ordnance from hundreds of towns and villages across the North of Sri Lanka.

Safe water for thousands:
1.66 Billion Rupee water project commissioned in Ampara  

COLOMBO 7 January 2010 – Today, the Government of Sri Lanka and UNICEF officially commissioned a new water supply scheme in Ampara district.  

The Thirukkovil Water treatment plant will provide safe drinking water to 38,000 people in the Thirukkovil area. In doing so the 1.66 billion rupee project, funded by UNICEF, will play a critical role in safe guarding the health of the region’s children, greatly contributing to the reduction of the incidences of diarrhoea, hepatitis and other water related diseases. While also ensuring that local residents especially women and children, don’t spend hours each day fetching water.  

“This project will increase the water coverage from 58 to 90 per cent in this region, greatly improving the quality of life for the people’’ said the Minister of Water Supply and Drainage, Al-Haj Athaullah at the opening ceremony.  

“Water borne diseases are one of the most serious threats to child health especially when there is limited access to safe water,” said UNICEF’s Representative in Sri Lanka, Philippe Duamelle. “Today the health and life of thousands of women and children will be enhanced by giving them access to safe water”.   As humanity faces ever greater water challenges and difficulties on sanitation, projects that so greatly increase the supply of safe water become even more important.  

The Thirukkovil supply scheme has the capacity to supply 6,500 cubic meters of fully treated drinking water to the Thirukkovil Divisional Secretariat area and suburbs. Before this project there was no reliable safe water supply in the area. Communities were depending on dugwells and other sources of water which covered only 58 per cent of the water supply needs of the region. With the Thirukkovil water supply scheme the coverage will now increase to 90 per cent.  

The main components of the new project include:

• Sagamam Water Intake, consisting of pump house, generator room, and suction chamber.  
• Thirukkovil Treatment Plant consisting of the aerator, sedimentator, laboratory, sludge disposal system. 
• Thamaraikulm site consisting of a 500 cubic meter tank for storing the treated water, generator room, pump house and a 2.7km pipeline connection.  
• The scheme will distribute water to communities in Thirukkovil, Mandanai, Thambiluvil, Kudinilathidal, Vinayagapuram, Thamaraikulam, Sangamamgramam and Sagamankandy areas.

About UNICEF  

UNICEF works in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence.The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.  

For more information please contact:   Suzanne Davey, Communication Officer – External Relations, UNICEF Sri Lanka, Mobile: 077 316 5378, Office: 94-11-2768555 sdavey@unicef.org

Ampara’s dairy farmers receive assistance from EU

The European Commission (EC), through its implementing partner the International Organization for Migration (IOM) provides a milk chilling centre for the dairy farmers of Bandaradoowa Village, Uhana, in Ampara, eastern Sri Lanka.  

This project, actioned by the EC and implemented through IOM, has included the construction of a new building – consisting of six rooms and toilet facilities - a boundary wall and gate, landscaping, drainage, electricity and water connection, and perhaps most importantly, the supply and installation of a milk cooler which can hold 500 litres of milk, and keep it cool, at any one time (see left and below).  

Average household income in Bandaradoowa is currently around LKR 3,180 per month, and of the 309 households, 43 are female headed and two thirds are registered Samurdhi recipients.  

The benefits of this centre will be far reaching. Dairy farmers - previously only able to make one milk round per day and suffering much loss of income due to spoilage – will now be able to keep their milk cool, make an additional evening round, and potentially double their income. The project cost over 5.9 million Sri Lankan rupees and will serve some 1,522 beneficiaries, of which 112 dairy farmers in this conflict-affected village directly.  

A ceremony to open and hand over Bandaradoowa MCC to the Bandaradoowa Farmer Managed Society will take place at 10.30am on 03.12.2009 at the project site.  

"Return must be both voluntary and informed" - UN humanitarian chief welcomes return of displaced in Sri Lanka 

(Colombo/New York, 18 November 2009): United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes concluded the second day of his three-day mission to Sri Lanka  today with visits to Vavuniya in the north and Mannar in the northwest.

In the morning, the ERC met General Kamal Guneratne, the Competent Authority (CA), and Mrs. Charles, Government Agent for Vavuniya, in charge of Menik Farm camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) near Vavuniya. They reiterated the commitment of the Government to ensure the return of all IDPs in the camp by the end of January 2010. Currently, some 150,000 IDPs remain in camps, including 135,000 in Menik Farm, approximately half the population at its peak.

In a visit to the camp, the ERC noted that, besides the considerable progress in decongesting the camp, the shelters for IDPs were in acceptable condition despite the rains, thanks to efforts at reinforcement, and that there had been no major disease outbreaks, despite the onset of the monsoon.

The ERC visited a clinic, a rehabilitation centre for handicapped people, including those with conflict-related injuries, a school, a supplementary feeding centre for malnourished children run by UNICEF, and a vocational training programme for women. Displaced people with whom the ERC spoke confirmed their desire to return home, but wanted more information about the return process, including the time of their own return and details of the support they would have on arrival.

In Mannar, Mr. Holmes met displaced people in the process of returning, who were being provided relief supplies, and schoolchildren who had just restarted classes in their local school after a two-year absence. All expressed their relief at being allowed to return home, but concern about their future, particularly how quickly they would be able to resume farming and fishing.

On returning to Colombo, Mr. Holmes met Rohitha Bogollagama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and other Government representatives. Mr. Holmes welcomed Mr. Bogollagama's assurance that the Government was committed to ensuring full freedom of movement for IDPs. The ERC also welcomed the recent progress in allowing IDPs to return home while expressing concerns about the process, including the need for greater consultation with the IDPs themselves and assurances that demining had been fully completed and basic services provided in the areas of return.

Tomorrow, Mr. Holmes is scheduled to meet Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe, Secretary of Defense Gotabaya Rajapaksa, head of Uthuru Wasanthaya—the 180-day resettlement and reconstruction program in the North--Basil Rajapaksa, and President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Women central to efforts to deal with climate change, says new UN Population Fund report  

Colombo, 18 November 2009—Women bear the disproportionate burden of climate change, but have so far been largely overlooked in the debate about how to address problems of rising seas, droughts, melting glaciers and extreme weather, concludes The State of World Population 2009, released today by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.  

“Poor women in poor countries are among the hardest hit by climate change, even though they contributed the least to it,” says UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid.  

The poor are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and the majority of the 1.5 billion people living on $1 a day or less are women. The poor are more likely to depend on agriculture for a living and therefore risk going hungry or losing their livelihoods when droughts strike, rains become unpredictable and hurricanes move with unprecedented force. The poor tend to live in marginal areas, vulnerable to floods, rising seas and storms.  

The report draws attention to populations in low-lying coastal areas that are vulnerable to climate change and calls on governments to plan ahead to strengthen risk reduction, preparedness and management of disasters and address the potential displacement of people.  

Research cited in the report shows that women are more likely than men to die in natural disasters—including those related to extreme weather—with this gap most pronounced where incomes are low and status differences between men and women are high.   The State of World Population 2009 argues that the international community’s fight against climate change is more likely to be successful if policies, programmes and treaties take into account the needs, rights and potential of women.  

The report shows that investments that empower women and girls—particularly education and health—bolster economic development and reduce poverty and have a beneficial impact on climate. Girls with more education, for example, tend to have smaller and healthier families as adults. Women with access to reproductive health services, including family planning, have lower fertility rates that contribute to slower growth in greenhouse-gas emissions in the long run.  

“With the possibility of a climate catastrophe on the horizon, we cannot afford to relegate the world’s 3.4 billion women and girls to the role of victim,” Ms. Obaid says. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to have 3.4 billion agents for change?”

Read the report...

Peace benefits must be strengthened through economic measures and inclusive reconstruction efforts, says UN Assistant Secretary General

Colombo, November 13, 2009. “We appreciate the efforts of the Government of Sri Lanka, in the past few weeks, to accelerate the release and return of IDPs and as agreed with the Secretary General in May, to resettle a majority of the IDPs by January 2010,” said Mr. Ajay Chhibber, UN Assistant Secretary General (ASG) and Assistant Administrator for UNDP, while on a three day mission to Sri Lanka, which concluded today.

The visit, which included a trip to the IDP Welfare Centre in Menik Farm and the ‘Rice Bowl’ in Mannar District, served to update Mr. Chhibber on the recovery needs in Sri Lanka brought on by recent resettlement trends. In Vavuniya, Mr. Chhibber held discussions with the IDPs, civil and military authorities, officials in the District Mine Action Office (DMAO) and demining operators.

The discussion provided an opportunity to see how UNDP could best contribute to the post-resettlement process in view of the magnitude of the displacement and capacity challenges at hand. The ASG visited project sites in Vavuniya where UNDP is providing civil and legal documentation support to the IDPs. In addition, UNDP is also involved in strengthening disaster risk preparedness and environmental protection by supporting construction of drainage networks and reforestation initiatives.

In Colombo, Mr. Chhibber met with senior Government officials and Ministers, including Hon. Rohitha Bogollagama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights and Hon. M.P. Basil Rajapaksa, Senior Presidential Advisor and the Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Planning, Dr. P.B. Jayasundera.

Mr. Chhibber also held exchanges with representatives of the donor community in Sri Lanka and the United Nations Country Team. The visit provided Mr. Chhibber with the opportunity to outline UNDP’s role in the recovery efforts in the coming weeks and months.

UNDP, he said, is already playing an active role in assisting people in the camps and is an important partner of the Government. However, with the increase in the pace of resettlement, UNDP needs to start looking beyond the immediate resettlement process. Considerable assistance will be required to help communities establish sustainable livelihoods and restart their lives.

UNDP, in partnership with the Government of Sri Lanka, other UN agencies and bi-lateral donors, is in a strong position to contribute to post-resettlement efforts. “With the improving economic situation, Sri Lanka is already seeing some of the benefits of peace. This must be strengthened and consolidated through economic measures and an inclusive reconstruction effort in the North”, he concluded.

IOM works with Government, partners to return IDPs

In close coordination with the government and the UN, IOM has scaled up its logistics and transport operations in the past month to help return some 90,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) from the Menik Farms displacement camp to their home districts across northern and eastern Sri Lanka.

The returns, in hundreds of IOM-chartered buses, were funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and Australia (AusAID), and at one point reached 4,000 people in a single day.

Destinations included Jaffna, Mannar, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara and more recently, Mullativu and Kilinochchi districts. (Tunukai in Mullativu and Poornaky in Kilinochchi have now been identified as safe return areas)

"IOM strongly supports the government's decision to empty the Menik Farms camp and return the IDPs to their home communities by the end of January 2010. We are also planning to work with our partners in the government and the international community to help the IDPs to rebuild their lives after they return home,” says IOM Sri Lanka Chief of Mission Mohammed Abdi Ker.

The IOM return operation of the past month brings the number of IDPs to leave Menik Farms, which in July housed about a quarter of a million people, to over 100,000.

"An important aspect of the government’s resettlement plan is to ensure that local authorities are ready to receive the IDPs, to provide protection to vulnerable people and to ensure their access to services,” says IOM Sri Lanka Emergency Operations Manager Giovanni Cassani.

Clearing landmines and unexploded ordinance before the IDPs return home to towns and villages across northern Sri Lanka is a major challenge. IOM, with US$1.3 million of funding from Australia, has provided the government’s humanitarian de-mining unit with 220 mine detectors, helmets and other safety equipment. Part of the money is also helping the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) to hire more de-mining teams.

IOM is also helping returnees through the provision of shelter kits, transitional shelters and water purification systems, as well as clearing wells, and installing drainage and sanitation facilities. It is also setting up temporary health care facilities and strengthening the capacity of local government to cope with the additional needs of the returnees. Post-return, these will include early recovery initiatives and the need for new livelihoods.

In addition to the UK and Australia, the Netherlands and Sweden are also funding various IOM Sri Lanka IDP resettlement projects.

In parallel with the IDP return operation, IOM will continue to address the ongoing humanitarian needs of displaced families still in Menik Farms camp. This support will include the provision of emergency health care, temporary shelter, water and sanitation, camp care and maintenance, distribution of non-food relief items, transport, logistics and IDP registration.