Tsunami Two Years on: A Great Deal Achieved but More to be Done, Says Oxfam

Two years on from the tsunami, international aid agency Oxfam is helping 1.2 million people affected by the disaster.

Oxfam has spent $220 million, 95 percent of the $232 million it has received to date, on its tsunami aid work.  Over a third of the money has been spent helping people earn a living again; a fifth on public health, water, and sanitation; and almost 16 percent on housing.

Almost 40 percent of the money has been spent in Indonesia, the country hit hardest by the tsunami. A third was spent in Sri Lanka and over a fifth (22%) in India. The rest of the money was spent in Somalia, the Maldives, Burma, and Thailand.

Ray Offenheiser, Director of Oxfam America, said: "Great strides have been made over the last two years -- lives were saved, hundreds of thousands of tsunami survivors now have access to safe water and sanitation and can once again earn a living. But there is still much work to be done and no one can be satisfied until all those affected are back on their feet, earning a living and living in decent homes."

One of the major challenges to rebuilding homes in Indonesia has been reestablishing land ownership and rights, while in Sri Lanka the escalating conflict has severely hampered the reconstruction efforts in the north and east of the country.

More than 230,000 people were killed by the tsunami, nearly two million people were forced from their homes, and millions saw their livelihoods wiped out.
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