Tsunami response was world's best - UN

A child collects bricks to rebuild her house in eastern Sri Lanka. REUTERS/Anuruddha Lokuhapuarachchi

LONDON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - As the world marks the first anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, millions of people who dug into their pockets in an unprecedented outpouring of generosity will be wondering how their money has been spent.

Some may be surprised to discover that 12 months on the vast majority of the 1.8 million people who lost their homes in the Dec. 26 disaster are still in temporary accommodation.

But if the pace of reconstruction has been disappointing, the initial relief effort went far better. Basic needs were met promptly, helping prevent an epidemic that could have killed thousands in a second disaster.

"The world's response to the tsunami was the best ever," U.N. emergency coordinator Jan Egeland said. "Governments, the private sector, and individuals around the world opened their hearts and their wallets. Private donations for the tsunami eclipsed anything seen before," he told Reuters.

By comparison, Egeland said disasters like Hurricane Mitch which ravaged Central America in 1998 and the Bam earthquake in Iran in 2003 had only received half the money promised.

Dozens of governments, the World Bank and Asian Development Bank pledged more than $7 billion. They have so far allocated over $6 billion, according to Reuters research. The public donated another $5 billion plus.

TURF WARS

The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, which did not even launch a tsunami appeal, received so much money in the first few days it took the unprecedented decision to stop accepting funds and asked people who had already given donations if they could be diverted to other crises. More than 99 percent agreed.

"We had people insisting on giving money and they were very angry when we said we did not need it. In our Hong Kong office they had to close the door -- they had people coming with envelopes of money," MSF Holland's head of emergencies, Marcel Langenbach, said.

Of the $110 million MSF received, about $25 million was spent on the tsunami. The rest has gone to the Pakistan quake and emergencies including Niger and Darfur.

Although the massive volume of aid helped overcome severe logistical problems after the tsunami, which killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries and smashed up towns, ports and roads, it also contributed to a lack of coordination.

Flush with funds, aid agencies made individual assessments and distribution arrangements rather than coordinating through the United Nations.

This led to a fragmented picture of what was needed and where. Some communities were overwhelmed with aid, others were overlooked. Nearly 500 groups set up shop in Aceh alone.

"The big non-governmental organisations, the ones with which we work all over the world, understood the value of coordination," the U.N.'s Egeland said. "The same cannot be said about all the newer players on the ground."

Turf wars between competing agencies also discouraged co-operation.

"It's like the Wild West out there," said one consultant for the International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Aceh. "The aid groups all have plenty of money and they're racing to stake out their ground."

OVERAIDED

Bad co-ordination did not just waste cash but in some cases endangered the very communities agencies were trying to help.

Langenbach told how MSF doctors turned up to vaccinate children only to discover other groups had been there before them, but had failed to leave any records.

"In the end no one knew any more who had been vaccinated so there was a risk that some people were getting vaccinated two or three times and others not at all," he said.

In their eagerness to show donors back home what they were doing, many agencies also rushed to provide fishing boats with little thought to long-term consequences.

The IFRC said Sri Lanka and Aceh had been oversupplied with boats, leading to a real risk of overfishing.

Aidworkers said one lesson that had to be relearned was the need to consult and involve local communities. Not only does this ensure aid is appropriate but it is important psychologically in helping survivors take back control of their lives and in building a stable society.

"There's an important distinction between operating with a sense of urgency and operating with a sense of haste," The U.N.'s Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, Eric Schwartz said.

"Recovery is far more difficult than relief. If you're asking me am I worried it's going to be a multi-year process the answer is; No, I'm not. Do I think you need to move with a greater sense of urgency on issues like getting people out of tents and into transitional shelters? Absolutely. And there it is appropriate to light a fire under officials."

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