UNIFEM Tsunami Response in Aceh

The Indian Ocean tsunami that hit Eastern Africa and several countries of South and Southeast Asia on 26 December 2004 not only destroyed lives and property but decimated communities. Within two days of the tragedy, UNIFEM's partner organizations in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Somalia began sending information on women affected by the disaster. Women who survived were left with nothing to support themselves and their remaining family members after their homes and livelihoods washed away. Where relief operations were taking place amidst continuing civil tensions, women reported incidents of discrimination, harassment and intimidation of women and girls in rescue and distribution areas and in temporary shelters.

UNIFEM's Executive Director, Ms. Noeleen Hayzer, went immediately to the hardest-hit province of Aceh, Indonesia, to assess the scale of the disaster and ensure that, from the outset, support was given to women, whom she saw at the heart of the relief and recovery effort.

She reported being instantly struck by the resilience and strength of the affected communities — "Even before the big relief agencies arrived, survivors were already using their local networks and systems to assist each other amidst the wrecked buildings, bodies lying along the roads and repeated aftershocks. The strength of local agency was immediately obvious."

With this profound finding, UNIFEM strives to engage local expertise, knowledge and network in developing rehabilitation and assistance programs for women tsunami survivors in Aceh.