SLRCS and ICRC in joint effort

To meet humanitarian needs of IDPs:

The Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on June 9 to deliver a coordinated response to meet the needs of the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons in the Vavuniya district.

While the MoU explains how the SLRCS and ICRC will implement the assistance it has pledged to these displaced, outlined in a joint letter of intent sent to the Government of Sri Lanka in March this year, it is also expected to bring about efficiency in coordinating the Red Cross Movement’s efforts to meet the needs of these displaced persons.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has been assisting thousands of people displaced from the conflict who are currently living in sites in the North and East of the country.

Nearly 190,000 displaced persons in sites in Vavuniya, Mannar, Jaffna and Trincomalee were provided emergency medical care, shelter, water and sanitation in the first quarter of the year by the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) in coordination with its Movement partners, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Partner National Societies.

First Aid and emergency medical care, including mobile health clinics, have targeted 102,310 displaced persons, which is approximately 54 percent of the total displaced population.

In addition, the SLRCS ambulance services transferred 4373 displaced persons in need of hospital care to various hospitals. A very significant contribution was the provision of 2465 hospital admission packs to the wounded and sick coming from the conflict area.

Water has been continuously provided for 57, 305 people, around 30 percent of the current population of internally displaced. As for sanitation, 246 latrines were built to serve 17,900 persons, 10 percent of the displaced population.

Shelter has been quite a challenge for the IDP community. The ICRC, together with volunteers from the SLRCS erected 126 shelters, provided 2869 tents and 1073 tarpaulins.

In addition, temporary wards were built to accommodate 160 beds in Vavuniya and Mannar. With the support of the German Red Cross, constructions for upgrading the Cheddikulam Hospital are ongoing.

Hygiene kits, household items and other non-food relief items were distributed to 45,664 people or 24 percent of the displaced population. With an estimated number of 38,000 babies, a total of 3,833 baby kits were distributed, benefiting 10 percent of the baby population.

Distributions also included mosquito nets for babies and adults. Other relief activities included the provision of cooked food to 600 IDPs in the Trincomalee Hospital for 35 days following their arrival from the conflict area. To conduct these relief activities, the SLRCS trained 96 additional volunteers in First Aid and 55 volunteers for the ‘Restoring Family Links’ program to support the displaced in the camps.

The Sri Lanka Red cross, with the support of its Movement partners remains committed to continue fulfilling the commitment made to the Government of Sri Lanka to assist in meeting the needs of the displaced.

The MoU was signed by Jagath Abeyasinghe, President of the SLRCS and Paul Castella, the Head of the ICRC in Sri Lanka. Also present at the signing which took place at the SLRCS national headquarters in Colombo was S.H. Nimal Kumar National Secretary of SLRCS, Tissa Abeywickrama Chairman of Red Cross Task Force, SLRCS Deputy Director General (operations) Surein Peiris and ICRC Cooperation Delegate Hachim Badji.