Aid Crisis
Posted by admin on Apr 4th, 2010 and filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry from your site
By Michael Hardy
International humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of people displaced in the war in the North of Sri Lanka has hit a roadblock after the government abruptly changed the way it processes foreign donations, jeopardizing efforts to relocate IDPs to their villages. For years, the UN’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has used the Common Humanitarian Action Plan (CHAP) to determine where relief funds should be directed. In March, however, the government decided to scrap the CHAP and instead funnel the aid money through the Presidential Task Force headed by Basil Rajapaksa.
Unprepared for the announcement, local and international NGOs working in the country are scrambling to meet the government’s new requirements. On March 8, the UN High Commission for Refugees in Sri Lanka stopped distributing cash to IDPs returning to their villages. So far this year only US $15 million has been promised by humanitarian agencies—about four percent of the estimated amount needed to help IDPs in the camps and villages. To prevent a disaster, the OCHA recently announced it would use its emergency fund to supply food, water, shelter, and sanitation to the IDPs. “At the end of the day the agencies and the donors have to make the decision about whether [the Presidential Task Force] will be effective and transparent,” said Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, the executive director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives. “As far as I know it (the task force) has never reported to Parliament about its accounting or its disbursement of funds.”
The IDP crisis threatens to grow worse unless aid organizations and the government resume cooperation. In February, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation made an emergency appeal for US $23.6 to cover the immediate food needs of displaced families. Writing in another newspaper last week, former secretary of the Ministry of Human Rights Rajiva Wijesinha argued that the government is right to demand more control over international aid. “I am glad that the process of permissions is now securely in the hands of the Presidential Task Force for the North, which is able to have a clear picture of the whole,” Wijesingha wrote.
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“Aid Crisis”
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Edward says:
April 4, 2010 at 3:55 amThere are traitors like SF, LTTE suporters , people who wanted to discredit our governmenment men who fought the war, men like Rajapaksa and co. are best to handdle the money. They are honourable men so don”t worry they will do justice if we get more merryer we are. The IDPS are LTTE men.
Reply
M.H.Sheriff says:
April 4, 2010 at 9:21 amTo Edward
How dare you call a war Hero as Traitor do you know the meaning of Traitor, check the meaning & comment back.
If those money is given to MR Clan, like giving fox to be incharge
of chickens.
Reply kugan says:
April 4, 2010 at 9:37 amEdward,
look at ur bloody attitude,
IDPS are LTTE men?
people like u are the onces responsible for the war and i’m very sure Sri Lanka can never develop and prosper when people like u r in that country.
If fund goes to MR and family, it will end up in their bank account just like the tsunami money.
Reply BASH says:
April 4, 2010 at 7:42 amThere are several instances where govt supplies/donations, may it be water, electricity, building houses etc is given only to the regime supporters and the political opponents are considered not worthy of this. The Task Force may do the same with the IDP donations…. in addition we see so many funds misused for political propaganda and this funds could be used for political propaganda too… we still see Tsunami affected are not helped out yet
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