Indian ocean earthquake and tsunami: UNICEF response at 6 month update

This update marks six months since a massive earthquake off the coast of Sumatra triggered the worst natural catastrophe in living memory. Within this relatively short period of time, a great deal has changed: the dead have been buried, the homeless have been given shelter, and the orphaned have received care and protection. Even in the hardest-hit areas, rebuilding has begun. Children are once again attending classes, many of them in temporary facilities. Health centres are being rehabilitated, and their services upgraded. Already, signs of recovery are beginning to show. As of early June, 1,200,000 children were immunized against measles and nearly 850,000 were provided with Vitamin A supplementation. Hundreds of thousands have access to adequate sanitation facilities, and more than a million people per day are being reached with safe drinking water. Three quarters of million children have been given school supplies, enabling virtually all of them to return to school within two months of the disaster.