Oxfam Tsunami Report Highlights Biggest Aid Effort in History

Oxfam's
tsunami aid effort has been its biggest relief operation ever
according to its end-of-year 'Tsunami Accountability Report'.
The report sets out what has been done with the money the public
gave to Oxfam after the devastating tsunami that swept through
the Indian Ocean last December.

The report
details how and where Oxfam has spent the public's money, what
has been achieved, some of the challenges met, and Oxfam's future
plans. An appendix sets out how Canadians' donations specifically
have been spent.

"Real
progress has been made by the communities devastated by the tsunami,"
said Oxfam Canada Executive Director Robert Fox. "We're proud
of the role we have played in helping hundreds of thousands of
people to rebuild their lives. None of this would have been possible
without the extraordinary support of the public, and I want to
thank Canadians in particular for their generosity."

Report
highlights include:

• Oxfam raised
  US$ 278 million globally in support of tsunami relief and reconstruction
  - over 90% of this from the public.
• Oxfam Canada
  received almost $8 million in donations from the Canadian public
• So far
  Oxfam's response has reached approximately 1.8 million people.
• Oxfam has
  worked in all of the worst affected countries: Indonesia, Sri
  Lanka, India (including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Thailand,
  the Maldives, Somalia and Burma.
• Funds have
  been earmarked according to need, with Indonesia being allocated
  40% of the total funding, Sri Lanka 31% and India 22%.
• Oxfam's
  two major areas of focus, accounting for almost 60% of spending,
  have been public health - including cleaning and digging wells,
  providing toilets and restoring clean water supplies - and work
  to help rebuild people's livelihoods.
• Oxfam has
  worked with almost 150 local partner organizations.
• Only 6%
  of the fund will be spent on essential administration.

The Tsunami
Accountability Report sets out some of the challenges Oxfam has
faced. These include an absence of suitable building materials
in Indonesia; insecurity in Somalia; lack of government clarity
on land rights, the provision of land, and coastal buffer zones;
and initial problems with coordination among aid agencies responding
to the crisis. Some of these issues remain and Oxfam is working
with others to resolve them.

Despite the
challenges the report highlights notable successes where Oxfam
made an important contribution - for example, averting a public
health crisis following the tsunami, rapidly restoring livelihoods
by providing cash-for-work programs and helping to rebuild industries,
and our focus on supporting marginalized communities, whether
these be Dalits ('untouchables') in India or women at risk in
temporary camps.

Further
Resources

• Oxfam will
  be publishing "one year after" reports on shelter
  on December 14 and on livelihoods on December 20. (See links
  in box above)
• Oxfam has
  local staff in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India who can provide
  interviews from the field. We have a Canadian staff member in
  Sri Lanka.

For more
details, a copy of the report, or interviews, please contact:

Mark Fried
Communications & Advocacy Coordinator
Oxfam Canada
250 City Centre Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 6K7
613-237-5236, ext. 231
cell:
613-850-9723