As part of a concerted international relief effort, UNFPA is taking the lead in ensuring that the special needs of women and youth are factored into the design and delivery of short- and medium-term humanitarian efforts.

........................................................................................	Donate to the Tsunami Relief Effort Your donation to UNFPA will help meet the needs of women and families affected by this disaster – during both the initial relief effort and the reconstruction phase.
Aceh Tsunami Survivors Need More Family Planning Supplies BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, 25 January 2005 —Nearly four weeks after the tsunami, doctors and local social workers say there will be an increased demand for contraceptives among the displaced population, as couples seek to prevent pregnancies while they are living in camps. more..
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Sri Lankan Maternity Hospital Staff Copes With Crisis GALLE, Sri Lanka, 20 January 2005 —Dr. Samarasinghe was in the middle of a Caesarean section when the first of three massive waves slammed into the Maternity Hospital in the south coast city of Galle. The electricity was knocked out immediately along with the emergency generator. “It sounded like a freight train coming straight through the ground floor,” he recalls. more..
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Sri Lanka: Young People Pitch in to Assist Survivors of Tsunami Disaster COLOMBO, 17 January 2005—In a quiet, leafy enclave in Sri Lanka’s capital, 35 young volunteers, work in assembly line fashion putting together emergency hygienic supplies. These supplies are badly needed by women and girls affected by the devastating tsunami that claimed 30,000 lives in this island country and left over 800,000 homeless. more..
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UNFPA Responds to the Urgent Needs of Women and Youth

The specific vulnerabilities of women and youth are a major focus of UNFPA's tsunami relief efforts. In times of crisis, women are often the ones who are taking care of everyone else. Many suddenly find themselves the heads of households. Their health issues and other needs related to the burden of care they shoulder must be an urgent priority during this critical period and not a secondary concern.

In order to address the needs of women and youth, UNFPA and its partners are working to:

• Provide and distribute equipment, medicines and supplies to ensure safe childbirth and emergency obstetric care, as well as prevention of HIV transmission
• Reestablish maternal health services in areas where medical infrastructure and services have been devastated
• Offer psycho-social support to tsunami survivors
• Prevent and treat cases of violence against women and youth
• Promote the access of unaccompanied women and other vulnerable populations to basic services including water, sanitation, food, health and protection
• Provide and distribute sanitary supplies
• Support youth through education programmes and drop-in centres
• Skills training and other support to women and youth who have lost their livelihoods

UNFPA has offices in all of the countries affected and is involved in relief efforts in each. The Fund's appeal for $28 million covers major projects over the next six months in Indonesia, Maldives and Thailand.

Learn More about UNFPA's Response in Emergency Situations

	Safe Motherhood
	Family Planning
	Adolescent Reproductive Health in Times of Crisis
	Addressing Sexual Violence
	Preventing HIV/AIDS and Other Sexually-Transmitted Infections

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