February 2006

Download the Report UNFPA Response to Indian Ocean Tsunami - Year-End Report This report marks the year-end update on UNFPA's activities following the massive devastation caused by the Indian Ocean Tsunami on 26 December 2004. Thanks to the outpouring of generous donor support, UNFPA has been part of the initial relief and recovery process and is now focused on the reconstruction phase, together with its wide network of partners, sister UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community based youth, women and religious organizations. A year after the Indian Ocean Tsunami, work is ongoing to restore reproductive health services and address psychosocial needs in affected communities.

As part of a concerted international response, UNFPA is working to ensure that the special needs of women and youth are factored into the design and delivery of recovery and rehabilitation efforts. Its priorities are reproductive health, including safe childbirth, prevention of violence against women and girls, and psychosocial counselling for those affected by the 26 December tsunami.

After any natural disaster, women and girls often assume the primary burden of caring for their families and obtaining food and other survival basics. Women and girls have unique vulnerabilities – including pregnancy, the need for sanitary supplies, and a higher vulnerability to rape, trafficking, exploitation and domestic violence – that are often overlooked in immediate relief and recovery planning.

UNFPA has mobilized some $26 million to support its tsunami-related work in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Thailand from governments, NGOs and private individuals. Major donors include Germany ($8.1 million), Japan ($5.5 million), Norway ($2 million), Finland ($1.9 million), New Zealand ($1.7 million), the Netherlands ($1.6 million), the European Commission ($1 million), China ($1 million), and Australia ($800,000), Canada ($400,000), the United Nations Foundation ($400,000) and Sweden ($300,000). The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Funds has provided an additional $1.8 million.

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