CCHA to improve health in Vakarai

By Deepal Warnakulasuriya

Steps will be taken to carry out an immediate assessment on the nutrition/health conditions of re-settled Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Vakarai and nearby areas.

This decision was taken at the Consultative Committee on Humanitarian Assistance (CCHA) meeting which was held last Thursday under the chairmanship of Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe.

While the committee works for this target, CCHA sub-committees on IDPs have been asked to work on resettlement and welfare, logistics and essential services, livelihood, education and health.

A decision has also been taken to streamline the foreign consultancy and other assistance enabling them to work with the relevant line Ministries.

A spokesman for the Ministry said that the effort would fulfil the necessity of a guiding factor to utilise donor assistance in co-ordinated and systematic manner.

The UN and other representatives at the CCHA has accepted the matter.

The committee has further decided to make free access for NGOs and INGOs to the resettled areas in Batticaloa implementing livelihood and infrastructure development programs.

The CCHA committee comprises Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and several other ministry secretaries.