Summary:
The Red Cross Post Conflict Recovery Programme (RC PCRP) is an integrated Movement intervention with overall coordination by International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and implemented by Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) with the support of multilateral and bilateral Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement partners (Australian, Canadian, Irish, Korean, Monaco, Norwegian, German, Japanese Red Cross, the Hong Kong Branch of Red Cross Society of China, the Taiwan Red Cross Organization and United Arab Emirates Red Crescent). The Government of India is a non-Red Cross donor providing support to assist 17,500 families in construction of new houses and 454 in repairing of damaged houses with household toilets under Indian Housing Project (IHP).
RC PCRP is an integrated programme to support resettling communities with a comprehensive package. Construction of new houses following the owner-driven approach is the mainstay of the programme, while other components; health care, water and sanitation, community infrastructures, livelihoods, disaster management and organizational development, complement the sustainability and the resilience of the community. The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement partners are supporting all the components, while the Government of India is supporting only shelter and water and sanitation components.
With the addition of another 54 houses to repair with the support of the Government of India, which commenced on 31 October 2015, RC PCRP’s total caseload increased from 21,071 to 21,125 families in the Northern Province. At present the programme focuses on the completion of houses with household toilets to all 17,954 selected families funded by the Government of India. The programme also aims to provide water, sanitation and hygiene promotion (WASH) facilities to selected most vulnerable communities, where the Indian housing project is being implemented. As a result, shelter and WASH components are ongoing at present, while the activities planned under complementary components (health and care, livelihood, disaster management, organizational development and community infrastructure) are completed at present.
The situation
At the end of the conflict in May 2009, all the districts of the Northern Province were affected; the entire Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts were fully deserted, displacing all the inhabitants. There were also partial displacements in Mannar, Vavuniya and Jaffna districts. In addition to over 214,000 people displaced before 2006, over 281,000 people became internally displaced between 2006 and 2009; resulting in over half a million IDPs. As a result, the situation in the north of Sri Lanka was critical for those affected people, who lost almost everything, including accessibility and availability of shelter, WASH, health care, livelihood, infrastructure facilities and other basic services and facilities.
Since May 2009, the Government of Sri Lanka and its partners have committed significant resources to help former IDPs return to their home areas and rebuild their lives post-displacement. The challenges in post-conflict rebuilding, which include poverty reduction, providing education and employment opportunities, improving health and nutrition, livelihood support and infrastructure development, remain at a significant level.