South Asia: InterAction member tsunami response accountability report
Email
Tsunami Accountability Report Preface:
This report is dedicated to the 226,000 men, women, and children believed to have lost their lives in one of history's most devastating natural disasters. It also is an expression of appreciation to the millions of Americans who responded so quickly to the plight of those requiring help to overcome the immediate and longer-term consequences of the catastrophe.
The American public showed its generosity and compassion towards those affected by the December 26, 2004 tsunami in donating $1.48 billion in cash and gifts-in-kind to InterAction member agencies to assist survivors. This initial report describes how those funds were employed in the first 90 days following the tsunami. This was the period in which many members that had not previously been in the area were initiating operations and those member agencies previously working in the region were encountering the usual obstacles to undertaking humanitarian operations in areas that have been devastated by catastrophic natural disasters. These are among the reasons why expenditures during the initial 90 days, though very substantial, were modest in relation to the total funds received. More significantly, most member agencies will be providing not only humanitarian assistance but aiding in recovery and reconstruction over the 3- to 5-year timeframes during which they anticipate using all funds received for those affected by the tsunami. InterAction plans to issue further periodic reports on members' programs and expenditures. This report supplements information being provided by numerous member agencies on their websites. It does not include the many programs members undertook using funds received from the United States government, United Nations agencies, other foreign governments, and their overseas affiliates.
Of the $1.48 billion that InterAction members received in private funds and gifts-in-kind from individuals, corporations, and foundations in the United States, they spent $254.2 million in the 90 days following December 26, 2004 to assist tsunami-affected populations throughout the region. This number includes the amounts of money disbursed by the reporting agencies on commodities, services, employees salaries, transportation costs, normal overhead costs, and other direct expenditures related to the delivery of goods and services to those being assisted in the tsunami-affected countries. This represents an expenditure rate of 17%. The rate is consistent with most members' plans to remain engaged for 3 to 5 years in recovery and reconstruction programs that will be designed and implemented together with their local partners and beneficiaries.
As the following pages indicate, InterAction members are present throughout the region, are engaged in a wide variety of relief activities, and are beginning to formulate, and in some cases are already implementing, medium-term recovery and reconstruction projects.
"We must remember that reconstruction does not happen overnight. It takes time and requires patience and determination." - UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, former President William J. Clinton
(pdf* format - 268 KB)
