HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY UN EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR BEFORE DONOR MEETING ON HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO TSUNAMI-AFFECTED COMMUNITIES

Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, updated correspondents today in Geneva on the massive relief effort in the tsunami-stricken areas, where he said half a dozen UN relief agencies, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and several hundred international non-governmental organizations along with thousands of local groups were striving to meet the needs of 5 million victims. Mr. Egeland was in Geneva to chair the Ministerial-level Meeting on Humanitarian Assistance to Tsunami-Affected Communities. Sixteen days after the tsunami hit Asia, he reported excellent progress in averting a second wave of disease and suffering.

Mr. Egeland noted that the extraordinary effort was unique in the history of humankind. Sixty donor nations could be counted to date, from substantive donors like China and India, to East Timor and Nepal. Nigeria was among the first to commit $ 1 million to the Flash Appeal that had just been launched. Today, 35 ministers were expected in Geneva from the traditional donor nations, the new and emerging donors, as well as from the affected countries.

He said he expected the Flash Appeal to be fully or substantially covered. Even though $ 3.4 billion had been formally committed, only about $ 300 million had been pledged for projects and programmes in the field. Urgently needed were "more signed contracts, more cash and more concrete commitments to keep the effort going in the next six months". The UN estimated that $ 977 million would be needed for the next six-month emergency phase and beyond that, the UN and development agencies would require billions of dollars for reconstruction. He hoped that these commitments would come on top of the pledges for other parts of the world. Otherwise, it would be the "ultimate tragedy in all those other areas where we are struggling to keep programmes going" if those people were to suffer as a result of the extraordinary contributions to tsunami victims.

Mr. Egeland highlighted that the UN would also make an extraordinary effort to conduct real-time tracking and exposure to pledges committed, met, disbursed and realized by organizations in the field. This information would be posted on the www.reliefweb.org site. Today in Geneva, a team of experts provided by Price Waterhouse Coopers on a pro bono basis was working on the project, which had started last weekend in New York. Altogether pledges could reach up to $ 8 billion as had been announced and this tracking system would make donors more accountable for making sure the money reached victims. It would also make the humanitarian community accountable for disbursing the money both in the emergency phase and the next phase of reconstruction and rehabilitation. A system of immediate investigation into allegations of mishandling of funds would also be instituted. "We cannot afford any question marks on whether or not there is effective use of this unprecedented generosity", Mr. Egeland said.

Turning to the aid effort itself, Mr. Egeland reported that the second wave of destruction, death and disease that he had predicted on the second day of the tragedy would probably not happen. Although children were certainly falling ill from respiratory disease and diarrhoea, "we are not seeing epidemics and starvation because we are able to reach out faster than anyone could expect. This week, we will be able to reach the vast majority of tsunami affected populations". Only a few pockets of Sri Lanka remain unreachable as well as areas of Aceh and Sumatra but fleets of helicopters, boats and trucks were on their way with medical, sanitation and food supplies. This effort was going "according to the best of our plans in averting that second wave of disease and suffering".

However, he stated in conclusion, although two million people would shortly receive tents and basic supplies, he could not say that the job would be over. Peoples’ livelihoods should be restored to them. They would only have hope for the future as efforts moved to the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase, which in effect started today because the World Bank and UN Development Group would address the conference on the transition from humanitarian relief to long-term development.

A correspondent asked how countries could be made to honour pledges and unilateral moves by nations such as Australia to rebuild Aceh. He replied that one of the aims of the meeting was to gain clarity on pledges, loans and grants. The UN was leading the emergency coordination but in the long term, a wider effort would be foreseen. As for disciplinary measures against governments that reneged on payments, a journalist wondered what could be done. Mr. Egeland believed that the financial tracking system would give the press the tools to "expose" Governments falling short on their promises.

Finally, questioned on whether money would be diverted now that the second wave of calamity had been averted, he remained optimistic. The Jakarta meeting of Heads of State was being followed up now in Geneva and the Flash Appeal had received a good response. Mr. Egeland said he was concerned however, about the slow response for the crises in Guinea and Darfur, Sudan, where new waves of destruction were occurring.