Westport, CT ( April 7, 2005 ) What
has been the impact so far of the tsunami relief effort in south Asia --
perhaps the largest humanitarian response in history?
"In terms of saving children's
lives, the response during the first 100 days has been enormously successful,"
said Save the Children President and CEO Charles MacCormack.
"While the tsunami of December 26 killed more than 273,000 people, a second wave of death from malnutrition and disease never materialized because of a concerted worldwide relief effort involving many humanitarian agencies," he said.
"Save the Children has assisted well over 200,000 children and their families with food, water, medicine, household items, and temporary shelter in the hardest hit countries of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India. We have led the way in reuniting separated children with their families and protecting children from harm and abuse. We have worked with government agencies to get the vast majority of impacted children back into school. And most recently, we responded within hours to the earthquake which struck Indonesia last week, bringing more devastation to those so deeply affected."
Despite these accomplishments, MacCormack sees many challenges ahead as Save the Children shifts its focus from immediate relief to long-term development efforts.
"The process of rebuilding and reconstruction needs to move faster. Children and families are anxious to rebuild their homes and lives," said MacCormack. "The critical next step is to help local and national authorities jumpstart the reconstruction of homes, schools and health clinics so people can return to their communities and resume their lives. Save the Children is ready to help with on the ground expertise, human resources and financial support. We have worked in the region for decades, and we plan to help children and families in the region for many years to come as we move into the reconstruction phase."
Our Results So Far
More than three months after one of history's worst natural disasters, Save the Children continues to expand its efforts to assist children and their families in the three countries hardest hit by the December 26 tsunami--Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India. Here is a brief summary of efforts in each country.
In the Aceh province of Indonesia, Save the Children has:
- Distributed more than 2,500 tons of food, with a special focus on providing appropriate nourishment to infants, children under 5 and pregnant women; food distributions have reached over 185,000 people. This distribution of food is currently on-going.
- Led efforts to create a consolidated list of nearly 1,200 children identified and registered as separated or unaccompanied in the camps, and worked to reunify children with parents and loved ones.
- Launched a cash-for-work program that has hired tsunami survivors to help clean up schools, health clinics, mosques and other public facilities.
- Set up 29 "safe play areas" in camps throughout the Aceh province benefiting an estimated 12,000 children aged 3 through 12.
- Delivered educational supplies to local schools to benefit 11,800 children.
- Launched training programs to help replace teachers and midwives killed in the tsunami.
- Assisted in providing psychosocial support and counseling for 1,000 teachers who have been personally affected by the tsunami, and assisted in training teachers on how to provide psychosocial support for children impacted by the tsunami.
- Distributed more than 21,000 household kits -- providing the basic necessities to run a household--throughout the Aceh province. These kits contain very useful items like buckets, soaps, towels, clothing and shoes, cooking pots, small stoves, ground cloths, dishes, and other items needed on a daily basis.
- Vaccinated more than 3,100 children against measles.
- Distributed hundreds of medical kits to midwives for use in their communities. Kits include antiseptic soaps, antibiotics, anti-malarial drugs, fever medicines and bandages
In Sri Lanka, Save the Children has:
- Distributed more than 42,000 food kits, 10,000 non-food emergency relief items, 7,500 hygiene kits and 6,200 heavy sheets of plastic for use as temporary shelters in the worst affected areas of the country.
- Helped establish pre-school facilities for over 8,000 children aged 2 to 5 in 247 centers across all affected areas and helped support 286 teachers engaged in working with these children.
- Registered 424 separated and unaccompanied children in six communities.
- Supported 598 women in their efforts to start small businesses with help from the Women's Chamber of Commerce.
In India, Save the Children has:
- Distributed food, hygiene, household and basic medical items, as well as clothing, education and recreational materials, to 9,000 families.
- Provided hygiene items to 5,000 women and girl children in relief camps on the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
- Provided child psychosocial support to 50 teachers and 1,800 secondary students in Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar islands and helped set up supervised educational and recreational activities for children in relief camps.
- Supported training of medical assistants to improve maternal and child health care services, with a special focus on improving the nutrition of children under 5.
- Helped construct temporary shelters for 750 families in Pondicherry and to support the construction of a permanent child-friendly settlement for 200 families, which will serve as a model for other settlements in the region.
- Launched a series of cash-for-work programs for tsunami survivors and begun seeking ways to replace lost tools among boat carpenters.