Humanitarian Action for Children 2011 - Unicef

Sri LankaHumanitarianfunding at work:Highlights from 2010In 2010, UNICEF estimated thatUS$20,082,000 was neededto fund its humanitarian workin Sri Lanka. As of October2010, a total of US$10,781,415had been received, or 54per cent. With this level ofdonor funding, UNICEF madeprogress towards improvingthe prospects of children andwomen by helping constructand equip essential healthfacilities in Kilinochchi,Mullaitivu, Mannar andVavuniya. UNICEF ensuredthe supply of anthropometricequipment, therapeuticmilk and other nutritionaland health supplements totreat about 42,000 children,adolescents and pregnantand lactating women amongat-risk populations. Safewater supply to the resettledpopulation was providedthrough the cleaning andupgrading of 3,582 dug wells,repairing of 91 tube wells, anddrilling of 27 tube wells for196,000 internally displacedpersons, while hygienicmeans of waste disposalwas provided through therehabilitation or construction of32 latrines. Learning suppliesfor around 75,000 returneeand host school childrenwere distributed in NorthernProvince. Mine-risk educationreached an estimated 333,983individuals including 84,785boys and 92,580 girls.Children and women in crisisSri Lanka’s 30-year civil war, which ended in May 2009, took a serious toll on health services,water and sanitation facilities, education systems and protective safety nets for women andchildren living in Northern and Eastern Provinces. There is a massive effort at recovery underway, with each step both a promise for the future and a reminder of the past. Many of those whoare able to return to their homes find their movements – and their livelihoods – circumscribedby fields littered with unexploded ordnance and landmines. Many children are able to attendschool, but find they need to catch up from a severe schooling deficit wrought by years ofviolence and periodic displacement. After years of conflict, there are approximately 42,000women who find themselves alone as head of household, which causes significant economicstress and has a detrimental impact on the quality of care for children.The humanitarian need of those who remain displaced is particularly acute. In the last monthsof fighting, more than 280,000 people were displaced due to the conflict, and around 100,000are still threatened by poor nutrition and health care, insufficient sanitation and education, andunexploded ordnance and landmines. 1 An additional 300,000 people displaced over the courseof the conflict – some since 1990 – also remain in need of solutions. 2 The great humanitarianchallenge is to help Sri Lankans safely and completely return to their homes.Meeting urgent needs and building resilience in 2011UNICEF Sri Lanka is leading the WASH and nutrition clusters as well as the child protectionsub-cluster, and is co-lead of the education cluster with Save the Children. In 2011, UNICEF willcontinue to work with the Government of Sri Lanka, other UN agencies, local and internationalNGOs, and host communities in addressing the needs of 362,000 children and 214,000 women.• Nutritional aid will focus on the treatment of acute malnutrition. Some 55,000 childrenunder age 5 will receive therapeutic and supplementary feeding for treatment of severe andmoderate acute malnutrition. Rehabilitated health facilities in returnee locations will benefitmore than 77,000 people.• UNICEF will supply potable water and adequate sanitation and hygiene facilities for morethan 150,000 people in returnee and internally displaced person sites.• Educational quality and access will be increased. Formal education will be re-establishedfor returnee children through the repair of at least 30 schools damaged or destroyed duringthe conflict, benefiting approximately 6,000 children. An Accelerated Learning Programmewill support reintegration and retention within the formal education system of up to 100,000conflict-affected children.• UNICEF will contribute to the restoration of Government child protection services andcommunity-based structures to support more than 20,000 highly vulnerable children innorthern Sri Lanka.Funding requirements for 2011 3UNICEF is requesting US$9,825,000 4 to carry out its planned activities in Sri Lanka in 2011, halfof the amount requested in 2010 due to the rapidly changing context. Full and prompt fundingby donors is crucial to ensure the well-being of children and women in a country marked by along-standing civil war.More information on 2010 achievements and details of humanitarian action plannedfor Sri Lanka in 2011 can be found at www.unicef.org/hac2011 or at the country officewebsite at www.unicef.org/srilanka.1. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, ‘2010 UNHCR Country Operations Profile: Sri Lanka’, Geneva,, accessed 7 December 2010.2. Ibid.3. A six-month Flash Appeal was launched on 18 January 2011 in response to devastating floods and landslides.The UNICEF requirements of US$9,903,600 through the Flash Appeal are in addition to the Humanitarian Actionfor Children requirements.4. These funding requirements are part of the Joint Plan for Assistance (JPA) for Northern Province in 2011,launched in-country on 1 February 2011.UNICEF EMERGENCY NEEDS FOR 2011 (in US dollars)Total $9,825,0002,300,000 Health800,000 Child protection100,000 Cluster coordination1,660,000 Nutrition995,000 WASH3,970,000 EducationSri Lankawww.unicef.org/hac2011 | 2011 UNICEF Humanitarian Action FOR CHILDREN 25