Canadian Red Cross joins efforts to rebuild hospitals destroyed by the tsunami in Sri Lanka

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By Pamela Davie, Canadian Red Cross delegate in Sri Lanka

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Sri Lankan Red Cross announced that they will play a leading role in rebuilding the health infrastructure in Sri Lanka.

The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement will reconstruct 32 hospitals across the country that were damaged or destroyed by the tsunami. The head of delegation for the International Federation and the president o the Sri Lankan Red Cross society signed a memorandum of understanding with the Sri Lankan government.

The Canadian Red Cross will rebuild or repair four of the hospitals and build several oxygen storage facilities across the country.  The four hospitals are located in the districts of Kalutara, Galle and Kilinochchi. One of the two hospitals in Galle and the one in Kilinochchi suffered extensive damage while the other two are in need of partial reconstruction.

The Canadian Red Cross has delivered a program to provide health promotion for conflict affected communities in Sri Lanka, together with the International Committee of the Red Cross, since 1998. The 49 Red Cross health workers who are part of the program were on the scene the first day of the disaster to help people in desperate need.

“It makes sense for Canada to play a significant role in rebuilding the health care infrastructure following the tragedy of the tsunami,” said Bogdan Dumitru, Head of the Canadian Red Cross delegation in Sri Lanka.  “The Canadian Red Cross has a long term commitment here," added Dumitru.

The Canadian Red Cross has significantly expanded its operations in the country following the tsunami and is developing long term rehabilitation programs in the areas of health, psycho-social assistance, relief, construction, disaster preparedness and livelihoods. 

The Canadian Red Cross has worked with the Sri Lankan Red Cross in recent years to develop their capacity to help the most vulnerable and will continue with organizational development programs in the coming months.

As the official signing for the hospital reconstruction occurred, the Canadian Red Cross prepared to launch the training next week for its 49 community health workers in psycho-social assistance. The training is managed by a leading Sri Lankan expert in trauma-affected communities in Sri Lanka, Dr. Somasundaram of Jaffna University. 

The health workers are visiting transit camps for people displaced by the tsunami to provide first aid, health promotion and psycho-social assistance.