Press BRIEFING ON TSUNAMI RELIEF EFFORT

 

Updating reporters on the massive relief and recovery efforts in South Asia, a senior United Nations humanitarian official today said that, while aid agencies were starting to “get a grip on things” throughout Sri Lanka and elsewhere, long stretches of washed out roads and clogged airports were complicating efforts to reach villages along Sumatra’s western coast.

“Collectively ... we’re getting over the hump in Sri Lanka”, said Kevin Kennedy, Director of the Coordination and Response Division in the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).  And while there was much to be done, he said the feeling was that the mechanisms were in place to better asses situations and to more effectively deliver assistance -- particularly food stuffs –- to much of Sri Lanka.  The focus now was on replenishing supply stocks and refilling the delivery pipelines.

Mr. Kennedy’s press briefing took place today as a ministerial-level meeting got under way in Geneva on coordinating humanitarian assistance to affected countries in the wake of the devastating tsunami and earthquake, which rocked the Indian Ocean region late last month and left more than 150,000 dead and perhaps millions displaced in some 12 countries.

With more than 60 speakers expected to take the floor at the Geneva conference, Mr. Kennedy said the focus would surely be on recovery efforts and resource allocation.  But Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, would also urge the government officials not to allow the compassionate and unprecedented tsunami response to overshadow other pressing concerns, namely, the ongoing crisis in the Darfur region of western Sudan, and the heightening tensions in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On South Asia’s recovery, Mr. Kennedy said OCHA had received several queries concerning whether tensions between the Sri Lankan Government and Tamil separatist forces were affecting relief efforts.  While the agency was keeping a “very close eye on the situation”, to date there had been no security incidents and nothing had impacted on relief operations.

He also said that Sri Lanka, like other tsunami-affected countries in the region had benefited from the presence of many foreign militaries working with international humanitarian organizations and the governments.  Currently on the ground in Sri Lanka were military workers from Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, India, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States, with aid from Brazil arriving tomorrow.

Clarifying some recent press reports about the Indonesian Government getting involved in the work of non-governmental organizations and humanitarian agencies, he stressed that cooperation with that Government remained “excellent”.  But what the Government had requested was to be informed about which organizations were working inside Indonesia and where they were going.  “This is a fair request, as we operate in their country ... and it probably increases our own security, as well.”  In no way had that request impacted or diminished the ability of aid agencies to move about or to reach affected populations.

He stressed that washed-out roads and infrastructure were still making it difficult to reach villages along Sumatra’s western coast.  The town of Mulabo, which was south of Banda Aceh, was still not accessible from Banda Aceh by road.  And, although the town was accessible by southern routes, the roads were just as precarious –- only passable with light trucks -- and the trip took three or four days from the nearest supply base.

So agencies were continuing to use helicopters made available by the various foreign militaries, as well as the Indonesian military, he said.  Small boats were being used to deliver along the coast of western Sumatra and offshore islands.  Nevertheless, it was proving difficult to reach all of the affected populations in that particular area.  He added that there had been no reported upsurge in cases of malaria, although there had been reports of measles, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had started a vaccination programme in Sumatra.

He said that the number of people devoted to aircraft control and equipment handling at both Banda Aceh and Medan airports was increasing.  Indonesian authorities were getting help from Australian and Singaporean elements to clear the backlogs at those facilities.  Giving an example of the scope of that task, he said that, prior to the tsunami, Banda Aceh airport had received on average of three flights per day.  Now, it was receiving perhaps 200 flights.  The OCHA was also guiding efforts to ease the bottleneck by ensuring that more planes landed in Malaysia and that more aid deliveries were brought in by boat or on small planes, which were easer to slot and unload.

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