International Recovery Platform

This briefing paper provides a synthesis of key lessons learned from relief responses to past earthquakes. The main intended audiences are operational decision-makers and relief programme managers working in the South Asia earthquake relief operation.

Two years have passed since the devastating South Asia tsunami of December 2004. While the world’s focus has largely moved on, the children and families living in the wake of the disaster-many of them in precarious situations before the waves hit-still

The tsunami of 2004, one of the worst natural disasters in recent times, hit six countries of the WHO South-East Asia Region. This publication narrates the story of how WHO responded, the tremendous challenges faced, and how they were overcome. Dramatic, poignant photographs, as well as boxes and anecdotes of individuals involved, highlight the very human face of the health sector response to the tragedy.