OCHA established a presence in Sri Lanka shortly after the December 2004 Tsunami. Arriving just days after the disaster, a United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team supported assessments to define financial, material and human resources needed to assist the Sri Lankan Government in addressing the large scale needs for the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the disaster. During the aftermath of the Tsunami, OCHA acted as the secretariat to the United Nations Resident / Humanitarian Coordinator (RC / HC) and assisted the work of the Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery.

Under the leadership of the RC / HC, OCHA continues to serve as the secretariat to the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC), which includes 31 members and observers. Through the IASC, OCHA supports the development of humanitarian response strategies, in particular through the preparation of the Common Humanitarian Action Plan (CHAP). From September 2006 to September 2008, the CHAP raised nearly US$ 190 million for humanitarian response efforts.

OCHA also works to foster linkage with and support coordination between the Government and the humanitarian community. OCHA has seconded a liaison assistant in support of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Right’s role as Chair of the Consultative Committee for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (CCHA). In addition OCHA provides staffing support and capacity building support on information management to the Ministry’s Disaster Management Center (DMC). Collaboration with the Government of Sri Lanka’s Survey Department and the Urban Development Authority has been reinforced and joint work undertaken to review data of districts and divisions.

In addition to existing sub-offices opened after the Tsunami, in Killinochchi, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara, OCHA established new offices in Vavunya and Jaffna during 2007, to strengthen field coordination support in the conflict-affected northern areas of country. Offices provide secretariat services for inter-agency and sector meetings facilitate inter-agency contingency planning, support to missions and inter-agency assessments and cater to humanitarian information needs at district level. Priorities for field offices include monitoring of the overall humanitarian context and newly emerging needs, vulnerabilities and risks through liaison and collaboration with government, NGO and UN partners.