Sri Lanka: Vanni Emergency OCHA Situation Report No. 8

- An ICRC chartered ferry delivered 25 metric tons of WFP food and some medicine to Mullavaikkal in the conflict zone on 7 May 2009. The ICRC ferry was also used to evacuate 495 people from the area. For seven days prior to this operation security constraints had prevented the ICRC from reaching the conflict zone.

- UNHCR was engaged in a two day exercise to allocate 300 emergency shelter to Persons with Specific Needs (PWSN) close to medical and water and sanitation facilities in Menik Farm Zone 2.

- ICRC will start distributing food and NFI packs donated by the Government of India for 20,000 displaced families in Menik Farm.

- On 6 May, MSF France started the construction of a field hospital in the Menik Farm IDP site, following authorization by the Ministry of Health. Read more and download report ...

SRI LANKA: EMERGENCY RELIEF FOR THE DISPLACED

UMCOR's Sri Lanka office is working on the ground with other humanitarian aid organizations to provide emergency assistance to thousands who are being forced to flee from intense fighting in the northern region of Sri Lanka.

Thanks to an umbrella grant from the US Agency of International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA), UMCOR is reaching the most vulnerable to provide 60,000 emergency kits that include water, glucose, and biscuits as well as help build 4,400 emergency shelters and 800 duplex-toilets for displaced people fleeing to Vavuniya. Read more ...

Sri Lanka: IOM races to provide shelter, sanitation, as displaced flood into Vavuniya

With a flood of over 110,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in the past ten days into Vavuniya, the government-controlled district adjoining the LTTE conflict zone, IOM is racing to provide shelter and sanitation for nearly 40,000 new arrivals.

The IOM Vavuniya team, which now numbers over 130, including 30 staff and 100 locally recruited labourers, has already built 2,500 emergency shelters but is now turning to tents as the fastest way to shelter the IDPs from the extreme heat. IOM Sri Lanka has 400 tents in stock and is flying in a further 4,000 to Colombo from Dubai and China on 29 April.

"Many of the new arrivals have been displaced repeatedly by the conflict. Some are injured, they have had very little medical care, almost no food and water and have had to walk for days. They need help now and we have to move fast," says IOM Sri Lanka Chief of Mission Mohammed Abdiker. Read more ...