One month into tsunami relief effort, UN faces even bigger rehabilitation task

One month after a massive tsunami ravaged a dozen Indian Ocean countries on 26 December, the top United Nations emergency official today drew up a positive balance sheet of a "remarkably, singularly effective, swift and muscular" international response that saved tens of thousands of lives against tremendous odds.

With a death toll that will exceed 200,000, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland told a news briefing in New York that the UN-coordinated international aid operation had succeeded in avoiding a second wave of deaths from disease, achieving in one month a process which would normally take three months or more.

"In spite of monumental obstacles, no roads, few air strips, no ports, and torrential rains, bad weather throughout, we believe we succeeded in abating this second wave of deaths and that we have saved a lot of lives," he said, stressing that the global community must be now vigorously confront the even bigger task of rehabilitation.

Taking stock "on the one month day," he praised "first and foremost" the local communities and national governments for a "uniquely effective" response, followed by an "enormously effective" international aid effort by the UN, the Red Cross and hundreds of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). He called the donor response unprecedented with $775 million already pledged out of the $997 million sought in the UN flash appeal.

He also highlighted a "bigger and more effective partnership with military forces than I can ever recall," both national and foreign, who lent their aircraft, helicopters, naval vessels, search and rescue teams, logistical support, air traffic and ground handling teams.

Mr. Egeland said there were still pockets in Aceh in Indonesia, the worst-hit region, and in Somalia where enormous access problems persists and where there may be individuals who have still not been reached. "But we believe that we can now with some confidence say that there is no major group, no major community of affected people that has not received life-saving assistance," he added.

Assessments in Aceh and Sumatra showed "remarkably" no significant rise in the malnutrition rate nor any significant outbreak of disease. He said 1.2 million people were already receiving food, a number that could rise to 2 million, while 500,000 people were being provided with clean water. Children were already going back to school, with 60,000 starting "very symbolically, today" in Aceh and Sumatra and hundreds of thousands set to return next month.

"I think we are starting now the new phase, as of today, which is the recovery and rehabilitation phase," he said. "In many areas it has already started. In some areas of Aceh and Sumatra it will still take time to start, but generally the rehabilitation and rebuilding phase now starts, earlier than expected."

Improved shelter, clean water, sanitation and health care need to be sustained and regularized and "we need to start the rebuilding of livelihoods and the rebuilding of communities as such," he added.

"I think there is no need for complacency here for anybody. We did save a lot of lives, but we have not rebuilt their livelihoods nor given them a standard of living that is anywhere near what they should have," he declared. "That is a big, big task ahead and that will be even bigger than the lifesaving emergency phase."

He said this task will include hundreds of partners, not only the UN family, but increasingly the World Bank, the Asia Development Bank, bilateral development agencies and the national authorities.