1.      Summary –IDP figures

IDP figures as at 10th July 2009

Key Developments

• On 01 July, a team of Government officials assessed sites in Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mannar  and Vavuniya to plan possible resettlement in the near future.
• The Government has requested the ICRC to scale down its operations across the country following the end of hostilities between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE. The ICRC has said that it will initially scale down its operations in the East. The Minister of Human Rights and Disaster Management has said that since the conflict has ended, the need for specialized activities such as was done by the ICRC was not needed.
• Commenting on visa regulations for INGO personnel, the Minister of Human Rights has said that the need for such personnel will be thoroughly checked, the work of INGOs in the post conflict situation had to be checked before the issue of visa.

Humanitarian Information

Health

• Help Age International says that there are approximately 14,000 older people in the welfare and transit camps in Vavuniya-Chettikulam. About 75 percent of these people have problems with their eye sight.
• The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) has said that there is a shortage of doctors working in the camps. 120 doctors are needed but only about 80 are working at present.
• GMOA has further said that there is a severe shortage of nurses and pharmacists in the camps in Chettikulam. The Government has acknowledged that there is shortage. It is planning to send a batch of 300 recently qualified nurses to the camps.
• Reports of a suspected outbreak of meningitis and encephalitis are emerging from the camps. The Government has dispatched six doctors to the IDP camps to investigate. 18 meningitis patients have been transferred outside the district.

Shelter

• As part of the process of decongesting the larger IDP camps additional camps sites are being opened in keeping with the Government policy of 5,000 IDPs per site. Aid agencies are advocating larger camp sizes that could accommodate approximately 15,000 to 20,000 IDPs as smaller sites are overstretching the logistical capacities of some agencies and their ability to respond.
• In Jaffna,  people in some of the camps have complained that the heights of the tents are low which makes it difficult to move about.

Food

• The UN has expressed concern over the dwindling NGO funding for complementary food distributions. In the wake of such developments, Caritas has decided to support an additional 7000 people in Zone 1 with complementary food. Caritas has also decided to continue with the provision of relief supplies for another 3 months

• In Vavuniya, WFP reported that food distribution to family units will commence shortly in Menik Farm. This will replace communal cooking. Distributions will take place every Friday in zone 3 and every Tuesday in zone 1. Caritas is already supporting individual cooking in Zone 1.

NFRI

• There are several agencies supplying NFRI items to the people in Camps in Jaffna. The UNHCR that coordinates the distribution of NFRI is now facing the dilemma of too many agencies and individuals supplying NFRI in Jaffna.

Watsan

• In Jaffna insufficient gully sucking continues to be an issue in IDP camps and the WASH cluster reports that two additional gully emptiers are needed to fulfill the need. Caritas Jaffna too continues to report about poor sanitary conditions in the camps.
• Of the 15,000 Latrine target for IDP sites, 9,215 have been completed as of 13th July.
• On average 4,400cubic meters of water is currently available in all Vanni IDP sites including 3,000 cubic meters of drinking water (10L/per person/per day) But water coverage is not consistent across the zones within Menic Farm. This results in significant delays for water collection.
• Caritas Jaffna assisting displaced people in Chettikulam, reports that there is a shortage of water for bathing and sanitary needs in the newly opened Sumathipuram camp.

Protection

• On 28 June, a demonstration took place in Menik Farm zone 2 when IDPs were prevented from crossing fences to access other zones. There were no reports of injuries. The demonstration ended peacefully after alternative arrangements were made to access other zones. These include registering with the police before visiting relatives in another zone.
• The Government has reported that at the end June over 5000 family members have been brought together. Self identification/reunification has occurred between the different zones at Menic farm following protest from inmates as mentioned above.
• Inter district family reunifications too are taking place though administrative problems have led to delays in the process. The first reunification of 54 families from Vavuniya to Mannar has been reported.
• In Jaffna, local NGOs, religious institutions, and relations of IDPs have been allowed provide supplementary foods to the IDP periodically.

Caritas Progress to date

Food

• The WFP is continuing to monitor Caritas Mannar’s communal cooking. The     feedback is still very positive –

•    Caritas Mannar continues to provide complementary food for individual cooking to displaced people in Zone1 and for communal cooking in Zone 4 and Kathirgamar Welfare Centre (Zone 4). In addition, it is also supplying breakfast and dinner to those people being supplied with complementary food in Zone 4.

• From 1st July, Caritas Mannar is supporting an additional 7,000 people in Zone 1 with individual cooking. This follows the withdrawal of the agency that was supporting these people earlier.
• Caritas Mannar continues to supply about 32,000 litres of water for cooking in Zone 4.
• Caritas Jaffna is supporting an additional 6,340 people at the newly opened camp at Sumathipuram in Chettikulam. This is in addition to the displaced people it is supporting in Veerapuram and Chettikulan School.

• Caritas Jaffna reports that the prices of vegetables, fish and meat  have begun to decline and it may be possible to provide more nutritious food to the IDPs.. It expects to save a substantial amount due to this decline in price.

Education

• Caritas Mannar is continuing its assistance to pre-school children in Zone 1. Around 1,268 children under the age of 5 are attending pre-school. They are being provided with cow’s milk and Samaposha (a nutritious mixture made of pulses and grains). This initiative has boosted attendance.
• Caritas Jaffna has completed establishing 4 pre-schools in the Kodikamam Ramavil Camps

Coordination

• Caritas Jaffna attended the NGO coordination meeting on WATSAN on the 10th of July, where the participants continued to highlight the inadequate WATSAN facilities in the camps in Jaffna.
• Caritas Mannar attended many of the cluster coordination meetings held in Vavuniya during the week;
•  NFRI, food coordination, education cluster meetings during the week. At the food cluster meeting, agencies were requested to extend their food assistance for a further month.
• The food coordination meeting and the psychosocial coordination meeting chaired by the Government Agent.
• The NGO consortium meeting held in Vavuniya and Mannar on humanitarian activities
• The emergency assistance meeting chaired by the GA.

• Caritas Sri Lanka continues to attend the meeting convened by the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA). On 17/07, Ms. Zola Dowel, Head Office, UNOCHA presented an update on the situation in the camps and some of the issues discussed by Jordan Ryan, Assistant Secretary of the UN with the Government. The Government has stressed the following:
• Plans to increase the capacity of the human rights commission in Vavuniya to address issues of IDPs.
• Plans to decongest camps, to have smaller community groups.
• The Ministry of Women’s empowerment to appoint 40 staff to address gender issues.
• Reinforced commitment to the 180 day plan to begin resettlement of people.
• Government stressed national ownership of the whole process of managing the IDPs

In Kind Donations

• Caritas Galle has sent a collection of items including clothes, dry rations, sanitary items and slippers provided by the Sacred Heart’s Convent, Galle to be given to the displaced people.
• Caritas Chillaw has provided drinking water bottles and Caritas Colombo has given a large load of school kits provided by courtesy of Omega line ltd to be given to the displaced people.
• The welfare society of Caritas Sri Lanka has provided 1000 school kits to be distributed among the displaced people.

Wider Caritas Response

• Caritas Mannar staff helped in the distribution 1,000 kitchen utensil kits in Zone 1 supplied by Seylan Bank.
• Caritas Mannar made the logistical arrangements for the artificial limb fitting mobile service that was conducted by the Regional Director of Health services, Mannar from 8th to 14th July. Caritas Mannar supplied meals to 120 patients and provided board and lodging facilities for 14 days. The team comprised 20 members.
• Caritas Mannar staff assisted in the building of temporary shelter for pre-school children for which ZOA provided tin roofing sheets.
• The Caritas Rev. Sisters working in Mannar and Vavuniya have provided medicines and some disposable items to 50 patients in camps hospitals in Chettikulam.
• Caritas Mannar’s Centre for the Disabled has supplied 41 wheel chairs, 9 commode chairs, 3 tricycles, 16 arm crutches, 61 pairs of elbow crutches, 1 artificial limb and  1 foot drop. Physiotherapy assistance was provided to 198 people. The equipment and the assistance were provided to patients in the Mannar hospital, IDP camps and at the Disabled Centre.

Future Plans

• Caritas Trincomalee is planning to provide complementary food to approximately 4,700 people in the Sahanagama camp – Plot 1 form the 20th of July..
• Caritas Mannar is planning to supply 1,000 standard NFRI kits to IDPs in Zone 1.

Project Finance as at 17/07/09

• Provisional revised EA Budget:                              LKR  245,074,631.14
• Amount pledged:                                                       LKR  274,884,005.34

• Amount received from Partners:                             LKR  267,795,465.87
• Amount spent by Dioceses & NC                           LKR    80,520,295.78
• Advanced to DCs                                                     LKR    26,720,183.36
• Cash balance at National Centre:                           LKR  160,554,986.73

*The provisional budget is for a period of 3 months covering the period May-July 2009

With the current balance funding available, it would be possible to support about 72,000 persons up to the end of September in the welfare camps in Vavuniya – Chettikulam and Jaffna. Decongestion of other camps has resulted in the increase of population in some of the camps where Caritas is helping.

In addition, Caritas is continuing with on going programmes in the fields of education, medical assistance, livelihood and shelter. These are programmes which are assisting IDPs who were displaced in the earlier phases of the conflict. These programmes too could continue up to the end of September.