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SouthEast Asia: Earthquake & Tsunamis Quarterly Report Appeal No.28/2004 Operation Update No. 59

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In Brief

Emergency and Recovery Plan of Action (Appeal No. 28/2004); Operations Update no. 59; Period covered: 1 January to 31 March 2006; Appeal coverage: 39%. The list of contributions can be accessed from the Federation's website: http://www.ifrc.org/cgi/pdf_appeals.pl?04/1-2-3%20-%20ap2804.pdf

Operational highlights:

- Indonesia Red Cross' (Palang Merah Indonesia/PMI) role in the development of an early warning system for the country has gained increasing acceptance by the government and will be formalized in disaster management law; the final draft of the bill has been submitted to parliament.

- PMI is intensifying its community capacity building initiative in disaster preparedness and risk reduction for 64 village communities in seven high-risks districts of Aceh and Nias Island, building awareness with some 100,000 of the most vulnerable.

- The Myanmar Red Cross Society central council has made water safety a priority with training courses scheduled for the second and fourth quarters of the year.

- In Thailand, tools and equipment were handed over to 21 communities under the women's livelihoods recovery project. The programme not only complements the Thai Red Cross Society's role in tsunami relief but widens the scope of recovery work in job training and ecosystem restoration.

In response to the sheer volume of operations and project-related information available, this third quarterly report is issued in three parts, by tsunami-affected region. The hyperlinks included replace inclusion of lengthy annexes such as the contributions list and updates on bilateral projects of partner national societies. Feedback and suggestions for further improvement are welcomed.

Secretariat Overview

Following its inception by the Special Representative of the Federation's Secretary General the High Level Tsunami Group (HLTG), comprising leaders of 12 national societies, travelled in March to the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Indonesia to evaluate the progress of the tsunami recovery operation.

The group made observations on a variety of issues ranging from resource utilization, coordination and accountability to operational progress and the impact on the host national societies. Good progress was noted in recovery and reconstruction particularly with the increased number of people moving into good quality temporary shelters and new homes. However, the group also found that many of the early collective decisions on commitments and allocations by the International Federation needed to be reviewed and adjusted in light of changed realities, existing needs and an optimization of resources. Of particular concern was the drastic increase in field costs due to the high demand and limited supply mainly of construction material. The need was also identified to further enhance partnerships with authorities and other organizations for coordinated solutions to challenges on the ground.

As a result, a joint partner national society (PNS) and Federation Secretariat working group was formed to review the plans and commitments of all Red Cross Red Crescent members with a significant stake in the operations. This Reprioritization and Reallocation of Resources Group (RRRG) has established a tight timetable during which a number of processes will take place with the final result being available by mid- June. A collection of all PNS financial data (income, expenditure, commitments, unearmarked funding) will be completed by end April and analyzed by early May.

Simultaneously, and in close collaboration with PNS representatives on the ground, all delegations will critically assess existing and realistic needs, and reprioritize their planned interventions along clear criteria, keeping in focus the main objectives and aims of the Global Agenda. These revised plans will be submitted to the Secretariat by mid-May for analysis and submission to the RRRG, following which a series of meetings between the HLTG and the Tsunami Steering Committee will then decide which recovery programmes will be prioritized and financially supported in the future. This will also include a more coordinated and streamlined use of human resources at field level. Existing and remaining needs will be addressed by a variety of approaches, for example, member societies could take on some of the Secretariat's earlier commitments, programmes would be implemented with a higher degree of economy of scale, better use would be made of common resources, and external partners could be identified to take on operational aspects non-core to the Red Cross Red Crescent.

Although tremendous activity has been evident in the field and the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement is recognized as a valuable and reliable partner in the affected countries, the financial situation of the tsunami operation has become a cause for concern in the first quarter of 2006. The funding situation has evolved considerably from late 2005 with contributions from member societies falling short of expectations largely as a result of bilateral partners contributing far less than anticipated. As a result, the current appeal is only 39 per cent covered (approximately CHF 420 million pledged / received versus CHF 1,063 billion sought). The size if the long-term commitments made during 2005 combined with the costs of the transitional shelter programme in Indonesia adds up to expenditure forecasts that cannot be covered by funds so far received by the Federation Secretariat. This entire process is geared not only to optimize the current operation and use of resources but, as one of the results, increased direct contributions to the Federation Secretariat for its multilateral programmes is also expected.

As existing water sources recover, the Red Cross Red Crescent is identifying viable and sustainable alternatives to current costly emergency water purification and distribution in affected areas.

Indonesia

Overview

The security situation in Aceh continues to remain stable as the peace agreement signed on 15 August 2005 between the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) makes steady progress. The government has again extended the exit date of the European Union and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)-sponsored Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) beyond the already extended 15 June 2006 deadline, with the intention to have an AMM presence in Aceh in August for the first round of local elections under the new accord.

In the first quarter of 2006, the pressures faced by the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement in its rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts have been put into perspective by a spate of corruption allegations involving two wellknown international aid agencies. In the first case, the agency has temporarily closed its offices in Aceh Besar citing "financial irregularities". While auditors investigate the circumstances surrounding missing funds, planned housing construction and livelihoods support have been put on hold. Meanwhile, the second agency has admitted that a third of 768 houses built thus far may be of sub-standard construction.

A spokesperson from the Indonesian Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR) has stated that as many as 10,000 houses built by international agencies may be unsuitable for human habitation and need to be repaired or re-built. Some permanent houses, it was disclosed, have no running water, sewage or waste water outlets. To compound matters, the BRR chief issued a strong statement to a local daily questioning the credibility of the agencies. The World Bank together with BRR have also published a report describing rampant bribery practices in the transportation of relief supplies, stating that the extra costs were a major hindrance to reconstruction efforts.

The Movement has been spared incrimination thanks to its collective integrity, as national society partners continue a deliberate pace of activity that includes close consultation with beneficiary communities to ensure programmes meet local needs.

On 28 March, the country marked the one-year commemoration of the earthquake in Nias Island. In its one-year report, the BRR credits the Movement for its activities on Nias, singling out the Federation's recently completed Nias health assessment for particular praise.

According to the World Bank, some 35,000 houses have been completed or are under construction in Aceh, with more than 3,000 new sites started each month. The majority of hospitals and health clinics have also been rebuilt or are under construction. Furthermore, children have all returned to school and two-thirds of farmers to their fields, redeveloped at a faster pace than anticipated.

Perhaps the biggest threat to the efficacy of long-term reconstruction plans in Aceh and Nias is rampant inflation caused by a substantial increase in the price of construction materials, commodities and labour. As of February, World Bank figures peg the year-on-year inflation rate at 40 per cent across both provinces and likely to rise.

Furthermore, it estimates that the projected USD 1.5 billion combined reconstruction budget for 2006 will increase by some USD 300 million, while the same budget for 2007 will inflate by an additional USD 400 million. The Movement is addressing this challenge in a significant review of multilateral and bilateral commitments to the tsunami programme through its recently established reprioritization and reallocation of resources group (RRRG).

In Indonesia, the senior monitoring group -- a body within the governance structure of the Movement Coordination Framework established to support the Indonesian Red Cross tsunami recovery programme -- is in the process of reviewing programme priorities within its own scope of operations.

Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Coordination

The Movement Coordination Framework continues its regular monthly meetings of the task force and technical working groups in support of the Indonesian Red Cross (Palang Merah Indonesia/PMI) tsunami recovery efforts.

As an integral part of the RRRG process, the Federation delegation is re-examining its implementation role in context of the Strategy 2010 core activities. It is expected that the Federation will be performing an increasing role in coordination and provision of support services for bilateral partner national societies (PNS) that are drawing upon donations received from their respective publics, governments and corporations to implement rehabilitation and construction projects.

Working with Government, UN Agencies and other actors

With support of the Federation delegation, PMI's role in the development of Indonesia's early warning system (EWS) gains increasing acceptance by the government as the national society's strength in community-level education and awareness building becomes ever more recognized. This has been formalized in the final draft of disaster management law submitted by PMI to the government.

Although there have been delays in the pace of construction of the targeted 20,000 transitional shelters to replace tents for some 70,000 internally displaced persons (IDP) in Aceh and Nias, the PMI and Federation continue to work closely with the UN office of the recovery coordinator on this programme. Furthermore, the delegation's transitional shelter team is training local teams, providing shelter kits, and monitoring construction progress of 22 implementing partners, including Red Cross Red Crescent societies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Delegation staff hosted the World Health Organization (WHO)/Federation tsunami recovery impact assessment and monitoring system (TRIAMS) team during a visit to Banda Aceh in March. TRIAMS is a joint agency initiative working in collaboration with the Office of the Special Envoy to the Secretary General. The project aims to assess and monitor the impact of tsunami recovery efforts, using various data collection methods, and will consist of core common indicators for five countries and additional indicators that are country specific. The Federation delegation continues to attend interagency steering committee meetings conducted primarily in Banda Aceh.

For further information specifically related to the Tsunami operations please contact:

In Asia:

- India, New Delhi: Bob McKerrow, Head of Regional Delegation, phone: +91.98.1000.1534, 2671 email: bob.mckerrow@ifrc.org; Mohamed Babiker, Head of Delegation, phone: +91.98.1039.9650, email: mohamed.babiker@ifrc.org.

- Sri Lanka: Tony Maryon; Head of Delegation; phone: +94.(11)452.8698; fax:+94.(11)268.2671 email: tony.maryon@ifrc.org

- Indonesia: Arnulv Torbjornsen, Head of Delegation; phone: +622.1791. 91 841; mobile: +628 11 824 859; fax: +622 1 79180 905; email: arnulv.torbjornsen@ifrc.org and Latifur Rahman, Disaster Management Delegate; phone: +62.811.82.6624; fax: +62.217.18.0905 email: latifur.rahman@ifrc.org

- Maldives: Jerry Talbot, Head of Delegation, phone: +960 791 435 email: jerry.talbot@ifrc.org

- Myanmar: Bridget Gardner, Head of Delegation, phone: +95.1.383686 email: ifrcmm01@redcross.org.mm

- Malaysia: Dr Selva Johti, National Disaster Management Chairman, Malaysian Red Crescent Society; phone: +60.2.6138.2325, mobile: +60.1.2234.0310: fax: +60.3.6138.2325

- Thailand: Lt. Gen. Amnat Barlee, Director of Relief and Community Health Bureau, Thai Red Cross; phone: +66.2.251.7853 ext. 2202/251.7442, fax: +66.2.252.7976; email: abarlee@webmail.redcross.or.th

- Thailand, Bangkok: Bekele Geleta, Head of Regional Delegation; mobile: +66 18215495; email: bekele.geleta@ifrc.org

- Bangladesh: Selvaratnam Sinnadurai, Head of Delegation, email: phone: +88 02 831 5401-2, Mobile: + 88 0171 521 615, fax: +88 02 934 1631; email: selvaratnam.sinnadurai@ifrc.org

In Africa:

- Nairobi Regional Delegation; Anitta Underlin, Federation Head of Eastern Africa Regional Delegation, Nairobi; email: anitta.underlin@ifrc.org; Phone: +254.20.283.51.24; Fax +254.20.271.84.15; Steve Penny, Regional Disaster Management Coordinator; Phone: +254.20.283.5117; Fax: +254.20.271.8415; email: steve.penny@ifrc.org

In Geneva:

- Gert Venghaus, Tsunami Programme Coordinator., Geneva; +41.22.730.4258, email: gert.venghaus@ifrc.org

- Josse Gillijns, Indonesia desk and tsunami programmes in Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar; phone: +41.22.730.4224; email: josse.gillijns@ifrc.org;

- Suzana Harfield, South Asia desk (Sri Lanka and Maldives), Geneva; phone: +41.22.730.4353; email: suzana.harfield@ifrc.org

- Jagan Chapagain, South Asia regional officer (India, Bangladesh), Geneva; phone: +41.22.730.4316; email: jagan.chapagain@ifrc.org

- Charles Evans, Southeast Asia desk, Geneva; phone: +41.22.730.4320; fax:+41.22.733.0395; email:charles.evans@ifrc.org

- Amna Al Ahmar, East Africa regional officer, Geneva; phone: +41.22.730.4427; fax:+41.22.733.0395; email: Amna.AlAhmar@ifrc.org

- Media Department, Sian Bowen, phone: + 41.22.730.4428; email: sian.bowen@ifrc.org

- Logistics Department for mobilization of relief items and general Logistics support, Aysegul Bagci, logistics officer for Sri Lanka and Maldives, Geneva; phone: +41.22.730.45 50; email: aysegul.bagci@ifrc.org and Isabelle Sechaud, focal point for Indonesia and general coordination of tsunami operations logistics cell, Geneva; phone: +41.22.730.4367; email: isabelle.sechaud@ifrc.org; as January 15.2006, Alka Kappoorsharma, procurement officer, Geneva; email: alka.kappoorsharma@ifrc.org

All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in these or other countries, or for a full description of the national society profiles, please access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org.

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