Despite progress, women’s health faces challenges in tsunami-hit countries – UN

Less than half of the monies committed for women’s reproductive health, safety and equality in parts of South Asia devastated by the tsunami last December have been used, according to a six-month progress report issued by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Although considerable progress has been noted in the delivery of maternal care, the rebuilding of damaged health care facilities, and the distribution of hygiene kits to women, a narrow pipeline effect has impeded faster progress in the agency’s efforts to improve women’s health and safety in regions affected. So far only $11.7 million of the $26.9 million available for women hardest hit by the 26 December disaster, which killed more than 200,000 people in a dozen countries, has been spent.

The report noted much positive progress in the region, including providing basic and emergency obstetric care for the more than 150,000 women who were pregnant at the time of the disaster, the reconstruction of 20 health-care facilities in Sri Lanka, and safe deliveries of 326 babies, 47 of whom were high risk in Indonesia as of March 2005. But at the same time, the “absorptive capacity” of the local partners has not been able to keep up with the speed and number of donors, particularly in areas that were less developed, and had fewer organizations set up for health delivery previous to the disaster.

In the hardest hit areas of Indonesia, $16.5 million dollars have been donated to help improve women’s reproductive services, reduce violence against women, and decrease the incidence of HIV/AIDS, but only $6.6 million has been spent. Similarly in Sri Lanka, only $3.5 million of $8.6 million has been spent.

The report also cites weak coordination between levels of government and agencies trying to serve the local communities, and the expected slowdowns the agency has encountered trying to implement long-term changes, such as the acquisition of land, and taking the necessary steps through each country’s legal and customary requirements. Some of the slowdown has to do with the UNFPA “adhering to its own internal financial regulations and procurement procedures regarding bidding [and] contract approval,” said the report.

But also mentioned were the difficulties of progress in any region where the political and structural landscapes continue to shift, and when the person the agency worked with yesterday has been replaced with either a new person or an entirely different agency today.

And, in many areas where the political situation is still in the process of stabilization such as Aceh Jaya and Aceh Barat, Indonesia, security concerns have continued to bog down travel plans for UN staff or delayed them indefinitely.