Sri Lanka: International Assistance

Mr. Keith Simpson
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent estimate has been made of the number of (a) aid agencies and (b) humanitarian workers operating in camps for displaced people in northern Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Michael Foster
In Vavuniya District, where the majority of internally displaced people (IDPs) are located, as of 28 June, the Department for International Development (DFID) estimates that there are approximately 40 local non-governmental organisations (NGOs), 27 international NGOs, 11 UN agencies, two donor missions and four Red Cross entities (Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, International Committee of the Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross and German Red Cross). As many of these organisations have staff who also work in other districts it is difficult to estimate numbers of workers, but at any one time there may be between 500 and 1,000 workers engaged in humanitarian activities in Vavuniya District, not counting daily labourers.