Attention: Assignment Editor, Foreign Editor

The Sri Lanka conflict is over, but need is still great, says World Vision
Agencies urge Sri Lankan government to lift restrictions on aid access as conditions in displacement camps deteriorate

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. (May 22, 2009) — The need in displacement camps in Sri Lanka’s conflict zone is great, as thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) arrive from the war zone. World Vision is urgently appealing to the public for donations as conditions continue to worsen for those displaced.

World Vision has also joined other aid agencies in Sri Lanka in a call on the government to lift restrictions on access to the displacement camps in northern Sri Lanka.

In a joint statement, the agencies appealed to the authorities to lift recent restrictions on vehicular access to the camps. As a result of the restrictions, agencies cannot adequately provide urgently needed services including food and water to people who are almost totally reliant on aid.

“The camps in Sri Lanka are huge. They stretch over 1,000 acres and take nearly an hour to walk across. Without vehicles we can’t do our work properly and that’s putting lives at risk.

“Thousands of people are arriving from the war zone in a very weak condition. We’re very worried about their health, with children and the elderly being particularly at risk. Keeping aid agencies out will only make their condition more critical.
 
“We’re asking the Sri Lankan government to adhere to the guiding principles agreed by them with the humanitarian community and to let us do our job properly,” World Vision and 12 other agencies said in the statement.

Aid agencies are stretched in their efforts to support some 280,000 IDPs who fled the conflict zone and are accommodated in camps in the districts of Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka and in Trincomalee in the east.

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Notes:

• The 26-year conflict between the Sri Lanka government and the separatist LTTE ended on Sunday, with the capture of the last strip of coastland occupied by the LTTE in north east Sri Lanka and the deaths of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and other senior leaders. Even as the war ends, the country now faces the enormous challenge of rebuilding and ensuring the speedy return of the displaced to their places of origin or locations of their choice.
• World Vision is working with other aid agencies to support and care for the displaced persons in the camps. The international humanitarian agency is distributing food, water and family packs of essential items in the camps and is also engaged in supplementary feeding programs for children under five and nursing mothers.
• World Vision continues to advocate for the adherence to international minimum standards (SPHERE) in camp management, support and care for the IDPs in line with guiding principles on IDPs and a speedy return of IDPs to their own homes or locations of their choice.
• World Vision is accepting donations to help those affected by the conflict. Those wishing to help can visit WorldVision.ca or call 1-800-268-5528.
• World Vision donors support more than 61,577 children in Sri Lanka, including 17,500 children sponsored by Canadians. Sponsored children are not in the conflict zone. World Vision began working in Sri Lanka in 1977.
• World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

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