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Tsunami report highlights progress

The Indian Ocean tsunami that struck on 26 December 2004 took the lives of more than 200,000 people and wrecked entire communities. UNICEF’s work has focused on eight affected countries and has evolved from the emergency response that followed the tsunami to longer-term rebuilding.

The report studies progress on school construction; restoration of health services; rebuilding of water systems; and building of child-care centres. It also looks at some of the obstacles to rebuilding, such as the problems of working around conflicts in Sri Lanka and Somalia. Finally, it examines the impact of UNICEF’s work across the eight countries, where UNICEF-supported programmes have reached an estimated 4.8 million children and women.

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About UNICEF
For 60 years UNICEF has been the world’s leader for children, working on the ground in 156 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence.  The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS.  UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

For further information, please contact:

Rafael Hermoso, UNICEF Media, NY: Tel: +1 212 326 7516, rhermoso@unicef.org

Kate Donovan, UNICEF Media, NY:  1 212 326 7452, kdonovan@unicef.org