Building back better: a 12-month update on UNICEF’s work to rebuild children’s lives and restore hope since the tsunami

The report provides country-by-country breakdowns that include expenditure, plans and challenges, while highlighting children’s stories and key partners in relief and recovery. A unique international relief effort prevented any major outbreaks of disease and has since provided for the general health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of people. The work is far from over. Almost 12 months later, tens of thousands of families are still in temporary encampments and the process of rebuilding is really just beginning to move from conference rooms and drawing boards to bricks and mortar. Yet every week has brought progress. People have been kept alive and healthy. Families have been reunited. More than 90 per cent of children were back in school within three months. Temporary schools and health centres have been built. And while these basic services have taken shape - often with community consultation - policies and standards are being put in place by national legislatures and local governments.