FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE AND DEVELOPMENT
POLICY (SUB-COMMITTEE C)
2005 INDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI AND EARTHQUAKE:
UK RESPONSE UPDATE
Letter from Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary
of State, Department for International Development to the Chairman
As it is now almost a year since the devastating
Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed
over 300,000 people, I am writing to you to give you an update
on the UK government's response.
When the earthquake and tsunami struck, the
Department for International Development (DFID) responded immediately
by setting up a crisis team and sending an assessment team to
Sri Lanka. As the scale of the disaster became clear, DFID arranged
15 airlifts to transport essential relief supplies to the region
and also paid for 25 flights for the Disasters and Emergency Committee
(DEC). Reconstruction work in the region is progressing, and we
continue to work in partnership with the Governments of Sri Lanka,
Indonesia and India to ensure that our contribution is coordinated
and meets the needs of the affected population.
In total the UK government has allocated the
equivalent of around £290 million to disaster relief and
reconstruction in the tsunami-affected countries. This total includes:
£75 million to the humanitarian relief effort; £65 million
to the longer-term reconstruction; £55 million through the
UK's share of EC humanitarian assistance and longer-term reconstruction;
£50 million through tax relief on public donations made through
the Gift Aid Scheme; and £45 million which is the UK's share
of Sri Lanka's debt service costs to the World Bank until 2015
(following the tsunami, Sri Lanka was added to the list of countries
eligible for the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative).
Examples of projects that the UK has funded
include £4 million in Indonesia to the United Nations Development
Programme to help restore and improve the livelihoods for the
villagers of Aceh. This includes a Cash for Work project where
a drainage canal was built to drain stagnant water from the middle
of Paya Ting village in Aceh. By the end of June 2006, UNDP will
have helped to restore the livelihoods of more than 20,000 households.
In Sri Lanka, DFID has provided ZOA Refugee Care with nearly £1.2
million to build transitional shelter for 2,000 people. ZOA are
now building permanent housing which includes running water and
sanitation. If you would like to find out more about DFID's tsunami
reconstruction work, please visit our website: www.dfid.gov.uk
The overwhelming public response to the tsunami
and the numerous offers of assistance that DFID received from
individuals resulted in our collaboration with the DEC to produce
the booklet Disasters and Emergencies Overseas: How You Can
Help, a copy of which is enclosed The booklet explains how
the UK Government and international community respond to a disaster
overseas. It also offers practical advice and information for
the UK public about how best they can help following a disaster:
from donating cash and fundraising to volunteering and retraining
as an emergency worker.
To get hold of more free copies of the How
You Can Help booklet please call DFID's Public Enquiry Point
on 0845 300 4100 or email enquiry@dfid.gov.uk or download the
booklet from DFID's website www.dfid.gov.uk
Our response to October's earthquake in Pakistan
was swift and we have now pledged £58 million in humanitarian
relief and a further £70 million to meet longer term reconstruction
needs. The UK has also championed the UN Central Emergency Revolving
Fund which, in the case of a humanitarian disaster, will ensure
that funding reaches aid agencies on the ground faster and therefore
helps to save more lives. We have already pledged $70 million
to the fund and six other countries have followed suit, meaning
that funding now totals $172 million. The Fund is expected to
be operational early in the New Year.
I hope this is helpful.
Received 9 January 2006
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