Press briefing on tsunami relief by Kevin Kennedy, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

7 January

Updating correspondents at Headquarters today on the relief effort in the Tsunami-stricken areas, Kevin Kennedy, Director of the Coordination and Response Division of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), stressed that the number one priority was getting assistance to the people in need, which involved a host of activities, from finding them, reaching them and delivering the necessary assistance to them.

Recalling the Secretary-General’s remarks from the region yesterday that he had never seen such utter destruction, mile after mile, Mr. Kennedy added that, according to others in the field, the destruction was not only along the coastline, but inland as well, in areas up to three miles from shore. In terms of reaching out and finding people, and delivering assistance, “rather substantial progress” was being made. In Sri Lanka, for example, the effort would soon have reached every person in need with food and non-food items. In the Maldives, food was on hand now to assist some 50,000 beneficiaries, and distribution efforts had begun. Food was also in place in Somalia and distribution had begun there, too.

Sumatra in Indonesia was the heart of the crisis, he said. There were a few key developments, including the opening of an air bridge spanning from Malaysia to Banda Aceh, which would allow large quantities of supplies and equipment to be downloaded in Malaysia and brought to Sumatra. That would reduce the burden on the airfields in Sumatra, where yesterday C-130 Hercules aircraft, provided by Malaysia, Denmark, Australia and New Zealand, had been employed. The number of international staff on the ground had also increased.

In Banda Aceh, there were now some 50 United Nations international staff and between 150 and 200 non-governmental organizations, including the Red Cross, and others. All of those had established themselves among very austere conditions, he said. While deliveries of both food and non-food items were increasing, he remained very concerned about the health situation, particularly treatment for the injured and outbreaks of malaria and respiratory diseases.

He said that the second challenge was putting in place coordination arrangements and mechanisms required to bring together, officially and effectively, the many different moving parts. The military of 11 different countries was in play, including all of the affected nations, along with 440 non-governmental organizations, the Red Cross and several United Nations agencies. To meet the coordination challenges in Indonesia, the effort had established a disaster management centre in the Vice-President’s office, to be jointly staffed by Indonesian officials and the United Nations. It would be operational today.

A coordinator had been put in place for Banda Aceh, Joel Boutroue, a French national who had headed the significant emergency operation in the Great Lakes region in the mid-1990s, he continued. Among other things, the coordination mechanism would provide support for the NGOs and enable a smoother allocation of tasks. It was critical to continue to sort things out and bring together all of the needs assessments. The priority remained finding the people in need and then providing them with support and assistance. Daily meetings were taking place between the Indonesian Government and United Nations’ staff, as well as with the NGOs, the Red Cross and military chiefs there.

Emphasizing that a special feature of the crisis had been the provision of active assistance by 11 different militaries -- from India, United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, New Zealand, France, Republic of Korea and Pakistan –- he said their involvement would enable the United Nations to better bring to bear the Organization’s capacities. A centre for joint logistics would be established tomorrow in Bangkok, co-located with an OCHA military civil defence unit. That would consolidate the United Nations’ contacts with the different military forces in the region and increase effectiveness across the board.

Asked whether the separatist tensions in Indonesia and Sri Lanka were hampering relief efforts, Mr. Kennedy said that while he remained concerned about security incidents -- and there had been several in the Aceh vicinity -- those had so far not impacted relief operations. That was a matter of concern, however, and appropriate measures would be taken to safeguard staff and delivery.

To a question about reports that the Tamil Tigers and the Government in Sri Lanka were hampering relief efforts, particularly in the camps for the displaced, and whether distribution was influenced by that situation, he said that measures were in place to ensure that aid was fairly distributed; assistance was delivered on the basis of need, and need alone. The United Nations, particularly the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, had worked for years in those areas. He had not read reports of interference owing to the tensions between the rebels and the Government, and to his knowledge, that had not affected the relief operations. He added later in the briefing that the relief operation was enjoying good cooperation with the Indonesian authorities.

Another unique feature of the crisis had been the generosity displayed across the board, he replied to another question. Donations had flowed from governments, including those not usually categories as donors, such as Burkina Faso and Benin, as well as the outpouring from individuals. There really had been a unique outpouring of compassion.

Australia had always given generously, he replied to a follow-up question, adding that their contribution to the Tsunami disaster was a combined humanitarian and development initiative.

By the weekend, relief would have reached all 750,000 people estimated to be in need in Sri Lanka, he clarified to a further question.

Responding to a request for more information about injuries and disease, he said there were some very significant wounds, and many of the injured had gone without medical assistance for days, resulting in a number of chronic cases and loss of life or limb. As correspondents had probably learned, Carol Bellamy of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in the region, had proposed a major immunization programme there to prevent the further spread of disease.

Asked how much cash had actually flowed in to the effort, he said he could not say with precision how much cash was actually available. That was the subject of a whole other press conference. Some $1.7 billion in donations had been registered by the close of the conference yesterday in Geneva. The United Nations flash appeal had been for $977 million. There were different pots and different headings. There was sufficient cash on hand to operate. It was usually possible to operate on pledges and, once received, the United Nations enjoyed good credit and paid people upon receipt of the money. It would be weeks before all funds were registered. As involved as that was, he was confident “we will be okay”.

Replying to another question, he said that the $4 billion was probably a good number, but that encompassed several different types of assistance. The United Nations only announced numbers reported directly to it, although governments might make their own announcements. The United Nations followed the monies pledged against a United Nations appeal. The military assets had not been costed, and so far, no one had presented a bill, nor did he anticipate one. Provision of an aircraft, for example, should not be deducted from a humanitarian pledge, but whether a country counted that as part of its overall donation varied from country to country.

In terms of ensuring that the money donated went to those in need, he said “we have a pretty good track on where that goes and what it buys”. There were monitoring systems and monitors in place for that purpose.

Asked if the effort had penetrated all of the areas in need, he said that, no, it had not. Many areas, particularly in the western coast of Sumatra, were still unreachable by land. In the coming days, a map detailing the necessary key infrastructure improvements would be made, and the military would be called on to render its assistance in building and repairing bridges and roads, and so forth, using the local capacities as much as possible.

He added that he had really appreciated the use of helicopters and the fixed wing, which had been critical to the operation, but that was expensive. A Black Hawk helicopter carried a ton of food, but what was really needed were roads along which 10- and 20-ton trucks could drive much more cheaply and much more effectively. Essentially, in the range of 175 to 200 villages along the whole western coast had not been reached yet. He was hoping to be able to provide a better sense of the situation there by next week.

Concerning the orphans, he said that that was a special concern for UNICEF. Sadly, many children had perished in the disaster. Children accounted for perhaps as many as one third of the casualties. The New York Times had indicated this morning that the number of orphans relative to the number of casualties had been much less than had been expected. The UNICEF had established child centres and would be establishing more, maybe in the range of 10 in Sumatra alone.