Program Overview

The Situation

For nearly three decades, Sri Lanka has been scarred by a bitter-armed conflict and in May 2009, the Government of Sri Lanka announced a decisive military victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE or Tamil Tigers).

All the districts of the Northern Province affected by the conflict, the entire Kilinochchi and Mullativu districts were fully deserted displacing all the inhabitants and there were partial displacements in Mannar, Vavuniya and Jaffna districts. Between 2006 and February 2009, over 281,000 people became internally displaced. This was in addition to over 214,000 people who had been displaced before 2006, meaning that over half a million people had been displaced by the conflict.

As a result, the situation in the north of Sri Lanka was critical for the affected people at the end of the war, who lost almost everything including accessibility and availability of shelter, water and sanitation, health care, livelihood and other basic services and facilities. The population displacement together with assets depletion leads to a new form of social inequity.

Over the last few years, the government and 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 in poverty reduction, provide education and employment opportunities, improve health and nutrition, livelihood support and infrastructure development are still remain at a significant level.

Our coordination & partnerships

An early recovery coordination mechanism led by the government has been in place since the end of the war and was further strengthened and streamlined through the establishing of a national level body; “The Presidential Task Force (PTF) for Resettlement, Development and Security in the Northern Province” for national recovery coordination.

The Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS), mandated as an auxiliary to government in humanitarian assistance, does coordination work at all levels with government authorities in early recovery. The entire programme is carrying out assessments and consultations with the government authorities and representatives such as Government Agent, District Secretary, and GramaNiladhari. It provides complementary assistance to the government and other agencies’ ongoing efforts and ensures strong communication and coordination with other stakeholders to minimize the risk of both duplication and gaps.

The PTF adopted the “Who does what where” (3W) online system as the primary monitoring tool to track the progress. Following the launch of the Joint Plan of Assistance for the Northern Province in 2011 (JPA 2011), this 3W tool is being used as an effective monitoring tool to track progress of the humanitarian and early recovery efforts across the Northern region. Through a consultative process involving the Government of Sri Lanka and the stakeholders, sector indicators were drawn up to measure the progress of activities in line with the JPA 2011 targets.

IFRC representatives participate in the monthly Development Partners Forum where members of the diplomatic community, international organizations and UN agencies meet to discuss key issues in the north and east of the country. In addition the IFRC participates in the UN led humanitarian country team meeting, and various technical working groups and coordinates closely with local authorities ensuring the appropriateness of support provided

Red Cross Post Conflict Recovery Programme

The Red Cross Post Conflict Recovery Programme (RC – PCRP) in Sri Lanka has been implemented successfully with the SLRCS since April 2010, having a partnership with IFRC and other Red Cross Red Crescent Movement partners. The programme contributes to the sustainable rehabilitation and reconstruction in the North of Sri Lanka, an area of the country, which remains in great need of development assistance. It primarily supports people who have been displaced due to the conflict and are now resettling. The programme is an integrated IFRC intervention with overall coordination by IFRC, with the support of bilateral and multilateral partners. While this appeal sees support for the implementation of the programme assistance has been provided by Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement partners as outlined in table 2.

Table 2: Summary of key sector of the programme, focusing on shelter support provided to the RC PCRP from IFRC and Partner National Societies as of 31 August 2012

External Partners

From 13 July 2012 onwards, the RC PCRP entered a new partnership with the Government of India receiving funding for the repair of 2,800 and construction 14,000 new houses. Through this additional assistance 19,776  families will be provided shelter assistance based on the owner-driven approach utilising direct-beneficiary cash transfer mechanisms helping to empower beneficiaries and improve a sense of community ownership.

Since the inception of the programme, Kilinochchi and Mulathivu branches of the SLRCS have been re-established, electing their governance and deploying key staff. The evolving RC PCRP has been able to attract youth and professionals of the area helping to re-establish a strong Red Cross volunteer network.

To strengthen the volunteer network and provide integrated assistance to the community a programme called “Volunteers in Action (VIA)’ is introduced. VIA programme, an innovative approach combining the software components of the programme to develop multi-skilled volunteers. This programme aims to harness volunteer action for the holistic development of the communities. Volunteer capacities are developed through trainings/ workshops and creating platforms for integration and multicultural dialog. Trained volunteers are expected to be the catalysts in the change process of rebuilding of resilient communities.

Construction of new houses following the owner-driven approach is the key constitute 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 RC PCRP is advocating for the most vulnerable in their rebuilding process. The programme needed to expand further to extend its support to cater to the increasing needs of the resettling communities on their own lands where they were before the conflict.

For more information on the programme please contact

Director General
Sri Lanka Red Cross Society
No. 104, Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka

Phone: +94117651538 |Fax +94112682675
Email: [email protected]