The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of Sri Lanka

SRI LANKA Island nation in South AsiaHome to approx. 20 million people

74% Sinhalese18% Tamil (Sri Lankan & Indian

origin)8% Muslim

Long-standing civil war since 1983De facto state in the Northeast

under the LTTELTTE now defunct; all territory under

govt. control (as of May 2009)

Internally Displaced Persons Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are

people forced to flee their homes but who, unlike refugees, remain within their country's borders

United Nations report, Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement uses the definition:

“internally displaced persons are persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border”

Current State of IDPs in Sri Lanka Focus on the current crisis

279,208 IDPs in 40 camps in the northern districts of Jaffna, Mannar, Trincomalee and Vavuniya1

120,000 are children; 55,000 are estimated to be under 10 years of age

44% of children severely malnourished

As many as 5,000 children had limbs amputated from Jan-May 2009

2,000 vulnerable IDP children (orphans, unaccompanied minors, children separated from families); approx. 1,000 are now orphans2

1 United Nations, OCHA ‘ Sri Lanka: Vanni Emergency Situation Report #24, July 2, 2009’.2 UNICEF, July 9 Report

Life in an IDP Camp Overcrowded Toilet to IDP ratio 1:100 3

Spread of communicable diseases

Insufficient access to medical care, clean drinking water

Improper drainage, sanitation & hygiene

Lack of freedom of movement

Separation from family members

3 IRIN article titled “Too many people” at huge IDP camp, June 11, 2009

Monsoon Season2,000 makeshift shelters

flooded by heavy rain last weekend 4

Wooden toilets washed away; damage to sewer lines and water treatment plants

“Public Health Disaster waiting to happen”

4 IRIN article titled “Heavy rains compound IDP woes” August 17, 2009

Health ConcernsAs of mid-June:1,060 cases of dysentery

More than 5,000 cases of diarrhea

More than 12,000 cases of chickenpox (declining)

2,139 cases of Hepatitis A (declining) 5

Malnutrition– particularly children and pregnant women

5 IRIN article titled “Rains raise fears of malaria setback” June 30, 2009

Current Needs of IDPs & Future Projects

Emergency medication & hygiene kits Milk powder for children and pregnant mothers Psychosocial rehabilitation Nutrition Programs Ongoing mobile clinics: $1/patient Build more toilets and improve access to clean water Prosthesis Physical Rehabilitation: $85,000 physiotherapy unit in Mannar district Micro-credit programs for widows Empowerment projects

With generous donations, IMHO has sent over $500,000 to the IDP cause

Projects that have benefited include: Emergency medical relief – medicines, hospital supplies,

surgical materials Funding of healthcare workers within the camps -

$50/worker/month Temporary toilets - $320/toilet – to prevent epidemic of

infectious disease Psychiatric care – emergency psychiatric medications, ongoing

counseling, inpatient work Nutrition – food, milk powder Orphans Amputees – 30,000 amputees requiring artificial prosthetics

($250/prosthesis)

How your donations can help…Operating Cost of Primary Health

Care Centers: $1 USD per patient $30 USD a month = 30 patients receive primary health care

Cost for Running Mobile Clinics $ 0.75 USD per patient visit

Sponsoring nutritional needs of a child

$ 0.75 USD per day per child

Maternal Nutrition Project $ 100 USD per pregnancy

Supporting a Hemodialysis (HD) session

$50 USD per HD session $20,000 USD per annum

Supporting a Child for Cardiac Surgery

$3,000 USD per procedure

Incentive Allowance for Physicians to Work in Rural Areas

$100 USD per physician/month

Supporting widows through micro-credit programs

$250 USD per mother

Donate Today

Please make your tax-deductible donation today!Stop by one of our booths here tonightBy CheckOnlineDirect Debit

Visit our website for more details: www.TheIMHO.org

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!