Solomon Islands relief effort: the headlines

Death toll still rising

43 people have now been confirmed dead in the Western and Choiseul provinces and sixty people are still missing. The majority of those dead were from Simbo, while others were from Titiana, Rannogah, Vella La Vella, Gizo, Munda and Sasamunga.

Proper coordination of assistance needed

Coordination (or rather lack of it) of the relief effort appears to be a growing problem in the Solomons. Some donors are channelling assistance through NGOs while others are channelling it via the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO). This opinion piece in the Solomon Star suggests - quite rightly - that the NDMO should also seek outside assistance from those who have experience similar situations around the world.

The National Council of Women has also appealed for better coordination.

Premier Kiloe has raised concerns about the fact that expensive trips have been made to assess the affected areas, yet relief has not been delivered with them.

PNG has made another aircraft available for the relief effort - one that is small enough to reach areas that the larger planes from RNZAF and RAAF cannot! Hopefully this will speed up the delivery of aid to the more isolated areas that have not yet been reached.

Several large ships have also headed off loaded with material assistance.

Identifying vulnerability and capacity

The tireless John Roughan identifies some of the capacities and vulnerabilities in this article, Responding to Disaster!

Rev. Kevin Rietveld identifies some of the positives to emerge from the disaster.

The Most Rev. Sir Ellison Pogo identifies the parallels with the Easter Story.

Sanitation is a growing problem, particularly in camps in the mountains. Thousands of people are now sheltering in the hills, and use of nearby bushes as toilets is becoming a problem. Malaria is also likely to become a problem as many people are sleeping outside, in the bush, without mosquito nets.

I am hearing many reports, both through friends, through friends of friends, and through the media, of people being too frightened to return to the coastal areas because of the aftershocks and the fear that there may be another tsunami. However most people's livelihoods depend on fishing and coastal gardens. I have heard that some people intend to rebuild up in the hills, but given that the hills are often used for gardening, this may cause increased competition for land, and therefore social tension.

Unsurprisingly, more suggestions have emerged that the wantok system is affecting the delivery of aid (here). In my view it is likely that some people are preferring their wantoks when delivering aid, however even if this is not the case, perception is important, and the perception that some people are beeing preferred over others is likely to contribute to rising social tension.

Several agencies have identified the need for trauma counselling. The last time I was in the Solomons - in 2003 - the people I spoke to consistently stated that there was no trauma counselling available after the Tensions. I knew of only one group of women from the Weathercoast who, without any financial support from any institution, were travelling back to their villages from Honiara on a regular basis to conduct what they called "trauma counselling". Even if trauma counselling was provided or supported by international or local NGOs, it was very clear that very few people knew it existed, let alone had accessed it. Hopefully any trauma counselling provided or supported by NGOs in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami will be appropriate, widely-publicised, and very accessible.