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UN details how Indian Ocean tsunami trust fund money has been allocated

UN details how Indian Ocean tsunami trust fund money has been allocated

Nearly all of the money deposited into a United Nations trust fund to help with the recovery after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 has been distributed, according to a report released today by the UN humanitarian branch.

The report from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) found that the Tsunami Trust Fund – set up to manage contributions set aside for recovery and reconstruction operations – received almost $75 million through the 2005-06 financial year.

More than $72 million of those funds have been allocated to 67 projects involving 14 separate UN agencies, programmes or departments in seven countries, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

The Fund, which is under the supervision of the UN Controller, received contributions from at least 60 public and private donors.

More than 230,000 people were killed across the Indian Ocean region when the tsunami struck on 26 December 2004 in the hours after a massive earthquake off the Indonesian coast.