DFID has pledged £140 millionin response to the Indian Ocean tsunami ofDecember 2005. £75 million was pledged to the immediate humanitarian relief effort, including £7.5 million to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) activities. Thiswas exceeded as our total commitment rose to£76.214 million. A further £65 million was pledged to meet reconstruction needs in tsunami-affected countries. The breakdown of commitment and spend to date by country (including the provision at regional level) is shown in the following tables.
£ million Committed Spent Regional (inc. DRR) 50.642 41.15 Sri Lanka 4.825 4.653 India 2.767 2.617 Indonesia 16.47 16.47 Somalia 0.5 0.5 Maldives 1.01 1.01 Total 76.214 66.4
The regional commitment includes DFID support to the United Nations and £7.5 million for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) activities. £7.222 million for DRR has yet to be disbursed. We are considering options for spending this allocation. A further £2.592 million has not been spent because projects that we supported cost less to deliver than was originally budgeted. DFID is recovering remaining unspent funds.
£ million Pledged Committed Spent Regional 0 0 0 Sri Lanka 2 2 0 India 3 3 0 Indonesia 59.2 19.6 14.1 Somalia 0 0 0 Maldives 0 0 0 Total 64.2 24.6 14.1
DFID’s focus in the reconstruction phase for Sri Lanka has been to build capacity in-country to manage the longer-term recovery effort. This work is focused upon the north and east of Sri Lanka, but has been suspended due to the current crisis.
The money committed to reconstruction and recovery in India will provide a recovery and reconstruction programme coordinated by the UN for social equity, restoration of livelihoods, shelter, ecosystem restoration, HIV/AIDS, disaster preparedness, and programme management.
In Indonesia DFID is supporting the following programmes:
(a) £38 million to the Multi Donor Trust Fund to support housing, infrastructure, transport, capacity building, and projects which support the sustainable management of the environment;
(b) £10 million providing cash for work as part of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Emergency Response and Transitional Recovery Programme (ERTR);
(c) £6 million to the World Bank Support for Poor and Disadvantaged Areas (SPADA) programme. This supports governance, growth and service delivery in Aceh and Nias. £3 million through the Decentralisation Support Facility (DSF) managed by the World Bank, to support Government and implement partners’ ability to assist tsunami-affected communities to rebuild their lives;
(d) We are also supporting a number of smaller projects aiming to improve transparency in the way reconstruction funds are managed and build capacity of local governments and agencies.
In addition to DFID funding, the British Government have also contributed through the European Commission (EC). The EC has already pledged €123 million in humanitarian assistance and up to €350 million for longer-term reconstruction. The UK’s share of this is approximately £15 million and £40 million respectively. Her Majesty’s Treasury estimates that the Government will also be contributing approximately £50 million through tax relief on public donations made through the Gift Aid Scheme.
The UK has also contributed to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, who have both pledged resources in support of the tsunami-affected area.