Programs
Humanitarian Assistance
New Beginnings for Children Affected by Conflict and Violence (2004-2011)
USAID works with Save the Children in Sri Lanka to reunify children living in institutions their fami-lies, hoping one day they will be as happy as these boys in Neluwa in Galle District.
USAID's six-year program, New Beginnings, focuses on reunifying institutionalized children with their families and initiating community mobilization activities that will enable families and communities to protect and care for vulnerable children. Implemented by Save the Children in Sri Lanka, the goal of the program is to protect children who are at risk and affected by armed conflict or violence in the family or community from further harm. New Beginnings works to support those children in gaining safe access to family and/or government support, as appropriate, as well as providing ways for them to be included in the wider community.
More than two decades of conflict in the North and East of Sri Lanka have had a negative impact on vulnerable children in the region. Tens of thousands of Sri Lankan children now live in conflict-affected areas. Children living with their families or caregivers have experienced disruptions in their education and have lived with the threat of being conscripted into the fighting forces. Those without parents or guardians may be trapped in institutional and legal systems that are unable to reunite them with their families or provide community-based alternatives to institutional care. Entire families have faced disruptions in health services and become increasingly impoverished as economic opportunities decline in conflict-affected areas. As a result, parents and caregivers who no longer have the financial means to care for children often turn to privately-run institutions to provide health and educational services. Such a solution comes at the expense of a child's development and social integration.
In 2008, USAID/Sri Lanka expanded its target geographic coverage and began to focus on providing assistance related to rehabilitation and development of the multi-ethnic, conflict-affected Eastern Province. New Beginnings will expand its efforts to protect children from recruitment into armed conflict, prevent family separation, and strengthen community protection for children. The program will also reunify children with families and communities and develop the institutional capacities of relevant government departments in Western, Southern, and Eastern Provinces. USAID will work to strengthen the coping mechanisms of children and vulnerable families as part of its broader objective of strengthening human security in the East.
Reducing Effects of Incidents of Trauma - RESIST (2005-2011)
Using drama to help increase public awareness about the effects of torture.
Sri Lanka has a complex history of political instability. Thousands of Sri Lankans from all backgrounds suffer from the physical, psychological, social, and economic consequences of the violence associated with this instability. Humanitarian groups have attempted to address these issues to help victims recover from the physical and psychological trauma of torture and violence and begin to rebuild their lives.
The six-year RESIST program works to restore quality of life to survivors of violence and to reduce future incidences of violence in Sri Lanka. The Asia Foundation and local partners provide medical treatment and psychosocial counseling, advocate to reduce incidences of torture, and work to improve the quality of interventions through technical support, training and applied research. RESIST has conducted outreach and awareness campaigns to educate local government officials and communities on these issues, coordinated care and advocacy through local providers, conducted needs assessments for interventions, and initiated psychosocial services for victims and their families.
Avian Influenza (2006-2008)
Sri Lanka remains free of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), although cases in neighboring countries pose a risk and an economic burden due to the lack of consumer confidence in poultry products. A strong veterinary system for diagnosis and surveillance of HPAI is essential to contain a potential outbreak and to maintain consumer confidence in poultry.
USAID's Immediate Assistance for HPAI Emergency Preparedness Program aims to keep the disease out of domestic poultry and to prevent the establishment, spread and development to epidemic proportions of HPAI, should it be detected. The program, which will end in March 2009, has strengthened Sri Lanka's early warning and early response capacity and provided critical preparedness materials. The project is managed by the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and implemented by the Department of Animal Production and Health (DAPH).
AFTER: Farmers use materials and training provided by USAID to construct new houses that better protect their chickens from the spread of Avian Influenza from wild birds.
BEFORE: Farmers used chicken houses that allowed disease to spread because wild birds could mingle with domestic fowl.
The program put in place an island-wide Disease Monitoring and Surveillance System and trained veterinary staff to improve emergency response. USAID improved diagnostic capacity by providing a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine, which allows veterinarians to detect infection quickly. A public relations campaign worked to increase awareness of the disease amongst farmers and the public. The program also supplied critical materials such as Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs), which safeguard against exposure to infected birds or their manure when responding to an actual or suspected outbreak. By June 2008, USAID had supplied the Department of Animal Production and Health with 6,000 sets of PPEs and test kits.
The program also worked to improve biological security methods in the poultry industry to reduce contamination from waste and support cleaner techniques. Poultry farmers were trained in better ways to make compost, along with safer methods to cull and dispose of diseased birds. These techniques help to prevent the spread of disease within poultry populations and strengthen the local poultry industry.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE
Families forced from their homes by conflict rely on humanitarian assistance.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is committed to helping conflict-affected communities return to normalcy as quickly as possible. In times of crisis, USAID provides emergency food assistance through the Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) and emergency non-food relief through the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA).
USAID/FFP provides emergency food aid (Public Law 480 Title II) to Sri Lanka. Starting in FY 2009, all USAID food commodities (wheat, lentils, and oil) are being distributed as dry rations to people displaced by the conflict in the North. USAID food aid has also supported programs in Sri Lanka's East, including school feeding, mother/child nutrition, and dry rations to support Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) in camps and people who return to their homes.
USAID/OFDA funds are used to support programs that save lives, alleviate suffering, and reduce the social and economic impact of humanitarian emergencies. USAID/OFDA provides commodities and financial assistance to help populations recover in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. USAID/OFDA has been actively engaged in responding to Sri Lanka's emergencies and providing humanitarian assistance, including conflict and natural disasters such as the 2004 tsunami.
USAID, the development agency of the U.S. Government, provides funding to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to implement humanitarian programs. NGOs are non-profit, non-governmental organizations that provide services or development assistance that benefits the local population. USAID is committed to working with qualified Sri Lankan partners to implement our programs.
Emergency Food Assistance
In Fiscal Years (FY) 2008 and 2009, USAID provided $42.9 million of emergency food aid to benefit the people of the North and the East. So far in FY 2009, USAID has donated 19,490 metric tons of food commodities valued at $14.3 million. Civilians trapped in the combat zone during the recent conflict received some of this food, while most has been used to feed the approximately 275,000 IDPs in camps in the North.
USAID food aid is consigned to the U.N. World Food Program (WFP). In the North, WFP partners with eight international NGOs and eight local NGOs to distribute dry rations to IDPs in the camps.
Emergency Non-Food Relief
In FY 2008 and 2009, USAID/OFDA provided more than $11 million in funding to support humanitarian programs benefiting the people of the North and the East, including support for health, logistics, protection, disaster risk reduction, agriculture and food security, economy and market systems, shelter and settlements, humanitarian coordination and information management, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programs.
In January 2008, USAID/OFDA issued its first award under a new umbrella grant program implemented by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), entitled "Sub-Grants for Humanitarian Assistance and Relief in Emergencies" (SHARE). As of June 2009, the $4.5 million SHARE program had issued 30 small grants to both local and international NGOs, benefitting more than 200,000 people in conflict-affected areas. Each grant, of up to $200,000, allows a qualified partner to implement emergency recovery activities in Sri Lanka's North and East.
So far in FY 2009, USAID/OFDA has provided funding to two local NGOs to implement services. In Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, and Mannar Districts, Social, Economic and Environmental Development (SEED) is working to increase the capacity of civil society organizations and humanitarian agencies to provide timely support for IDPs and to effectively coordinate and manage information. In Vavuniya District, Sewalanka is working to prevent and reduce communicable diseases in IDP camps by improving access to safe drinking water, facilities and communal latrines, and by implementing hygiene promotion programs. In addition to the SHARE program, USAID/OFDA funded the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to provide nutrition and WASH programs, and to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to build 10 health clinics to serve displaced citizens in IDP camps.
With FY 2008 funding, these grants funded a wide variety of activities implemented by local NGOs. OfFER helped IDP families returned to Batticaloa resume rearing livestock. Lanka Evangelical Alliance Development Services (LEEDS) worked to ensure food security for conflict-affected people in Mannar District. Rural Development Foundation (RDF) provided emergency housing and cash grants for immediate non-food needs for populations in Vavuniya District.
RECENTLY CONCLUDED PROGRAMS
HIV/AIDS (2006-2008)
Knowledge is power. Women at the Kalmunei IDP camp participate in an HIV/AIDS awareness raising program.
The 18-month HIV/AIDS prevention program aimed to reduce the incidence of new HIV/AIDS cases among at-risk populations to help prevent a generalized epidemic within Sri Lanka. The program was implemented by two NGOs, the Academy for Educational Development (AED) and Community Development Services (CDS), which both issued sub-grants to local NGOs and provided technical assistance in HIV/AIDS services.
The program strengthened sub-grantee management and technical capacity through training and development of training tools, increased efficiency by providing on-site support to transfer and enhance technical skills further, and actively involved government and UN actors through a steering committee.
Trafficking in Persons (2006-2008)
Human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons (TIP), is the third largest and fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Millions of people, especially women and children, are vulnerable to human trafficking, and the issue has become one of the most urgent human rights issues today. According to the U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons report issued in 2008, Sri Lanka is a country of origin and destination for men, women, and children trafficked for sexual exploitation and domestic labor. High rates of internal and foreign labor migration, economic hardship, and civil conflict leave many people vulnerable to trafficking.
Performers (center) take their message to the street, making local residents aware of the danger from traffickers in their community.
To address this issue, USAID provided $200,000 for trafficking prevention assistance programs, and the U.S. Government Trafficking in Persons (GTIP) office contributed $300,000 to address counter-trafficking issues by strengthening prosecution and improving victim protection.
With combined funding, USAID and GTIP trained 500 police officers and 70 government officials to identify, investigate, and prosecute trafficking. Nine police officers and government officials completed study tours in the U.S. and Italy, and 64 local non-governmental organizations participated in trafficking awareness programs. USAID also funded the development of a police training curriculum that is being used with all new trainees across the country. A media campaign including street dramas, radio advertising, and brochures increased public awareness about human trafficking.
A critical component of the program was the development of a database to capture information on trafficking incidents in Sri Lanka. The database was funded by a grant through the British High Commission, as an extension to the USAID program.
Disability Support (2002-2007)
Two decades of conflict have contributed to a high percentage of disabled citizens in Sri Lanka. Government health services have not been able to develop appropriate prosthetic, orthotic, or mobility products and services for the civilian population. A lack of skilled technicians limits the products local organizations can provide using antiquated technology that is inappropriate and sometimes harmful to permanent users.
A man who lost both legs learns to walk again with prosthetics, another step forward in his efforts to return to a normal way of life.
USAID's five-year Disability Support Program (DSP), which concluded in April 2007, provided holistic, comprehensive, rehabilitation services for the disabled through six local partners located in Jaffna, Galle, Kandy, Hambantota, and Colombo. The program was implemented by Motivation Charitable Trust and served more than 10,000 disabled people, including 7,000 who were fitted with international-standard prosthetics, and 1,500 with orthotics. It provided more than 700 customized wheelchairs and other mobility devices for persons with disabilities, and facilitated employment for more than 200 disabled people. The program also included an advocacy campaign to promote disability rights and increase public awareness of disability issues in Sri Lanka.
Emergency Relief Immediately Following the Tsunami
Shelter, Care, and Maintenance (2006-2007)
The 2004 tsunami that struck 13 of Sri Lanka's coastal districts displaced a total of 553,287 people. Of this number, 141,985 people lived in 315 temporary camps, with the rest living with their friends and families. Due to the scale of the disaster, these internally displaced persons (IDPs) had to live in transitional shelters for much longer than they expected while they waited to get a permanent house. These structures were designed for short-term use, so they needed to be upgraded and camp facilities had to be improved for the required long-term use. By the end of 2005, 40% of temporary shelters needed upgrading and other facilities had to be improved in order to meet people's basic needs.
In 2006, USAID supported the International Organization of Migration to improve the health, safety, security and wellbeing of the residents of transitional shelters in four Tsunami-affected districts, including Colombo, Kalutara, Matara and Ampara, benefiting more than 4000 families. This work involved shelter upgrade, relocations, decommissioning, toilet and well construction, improvement of bathing, toilet and drainage facilities, waste water treatment and water distribution, and road construction in the camps. The project also supported capacity development for local leaders and government officers to maintain camp sites, as well as awareness campaigns.
Playgrounds for Tsunami-affected Communities (2005-2008)
With safe places to play, children have the chance to heal from the trauma of loss and regain some joy in their lives.
The Playgrounds Project, which began in the summer of 2005, completed 87 playgrounds for tsunami-affected children in less than three years. The initiative promoted the physical and emotional recovery and developmental growth of tsunami-affected children in western, southern and eastern Sri Lanka. The project was implemented by Sarvodaya, with funding from USAID, the Bush-Clinton Tsunami Fund and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Sites were selected through a transparent process by a steering committee comprised of all partners involved in the project. The U.S. National Parks and Recreation Association conducted installation training for Sarvodaya's team.
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