This report covers the period of 1October 2009 through 31 March 2010, but reports cumulative totals from December 2004 onwards.

In a world of global challenges, continued poverty, inequity, and increasing vulnerability to disasters and disease, the International Federation with its global network, works to accomplish its Global Agenda, partnering with local community and civil society groups to prevent and alleviate human suffering from disasters, diseases and public health emergencies

About this report

This is the eighth International Federation-wide

Five years ago, on 26 December 2004, a massive earthquake off the coast of Sumatra created a tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean. Millions of people around the world watched in horror as the aftermath of the biggest single natural disaster in living memory unfolded on their television screens. Almost 230,000 people lost their lives across 14 countries.

In its wake came extraordinary generosity. Over the past five years, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has channelled public donations into recovery

Four years after the Indian Ocean tsunami, some of the most important aspects of recovery are the least visible. The Red Cross Red Crescent programmes support communities to rebuild their own lives now and to cope with future threats - natural disasters, the effects of climate change, outbreaks of disease, conflict or the rapid rise in the cost of food and fuel. When livelihoods are secure, children are educated, safe water is plentiful, healthcare is accessible and houses are sturdy, then people are less exposed to future shocks. The result is

FOREWORD

The Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that struck on 26 December 2004 created an unprecedented challenge for the United Nations and the world at large. At the same time, it started a new era of increased cooperation in response in the humanitarian sector.

In view of the volume of funds that were received in OCHA's account as well as the number of donors, the Tsunami Trust Fund was established as a separate Trust Fund to allow for optimal monitoring of the utilisation of the funds. In a joint effort with the

1 The report

This report synthesises the five Tsunami Evaluation Coalition (TEC) thematic evaluation reports, their sub-studies and other materials relating to the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis of 26 December 2004. These five studies are published alongside this Synthesis Report as a set,(1) and their titles are:

- Coordination of the international response to tsunami-affected countries

- The role of needs assessment in the tsunami response

Introduction
This is an initial report from the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition (TEC). The TEC is a collaborative effort by aid agencies (donor governments’ aid departments, United Nations agencies, non-governmental organisations, and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement) to improve humanitarian systems by learning from the response to the earthquake and tsunamis of 26 December 2004. Another aim of the TEC is to provide some accountability for the humanitarian system to both the giving and receiving publics.

Le Conseil d'orientation de l'action humanitaire d'urgence a pris l'initiative d'un forum qui s'est tenu au Centre des conférences internationales du Ministère des Affaires étrangères, le 15 juin 2005, et a été ouvert par son Président, Alain Boinet. Il s'est déroulé selon le programme joint en annexe, bâti autour de trois tables rondes successives, et a recueilli un vif succès auprès d'un public (250

On 26 December 2004, an earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a massive tsunami that devastated costal areas of eleven countries around the Indian Ocean. More than 280 000 were killed and at least one million were displaced by the disaster. An unprecedented emergency response ensued, with priority focused on the health and wellbeing of survivors. Citing the threat of outbreaks from waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid and hepatitis, governments, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) urgently

The aim of this report is to assist agencies working in the tsunami crisis by highlighting seven generic lessons that have been learned from other natural disasters, specifically floods and earthquakes. The report distils main findings and lessons from evaluations and synthesis reports contained in the ALNAP Evaluative Reports Database (ERD), as well as other learning initiatives concerned with responses to natural disasters. Where possible it provides links to these documents as well as to additional relevant papers and web sites.