The Post Tsunami Recovery in the Indian Ocean - Lessons Learned, Successes, Challenges and Future Action

 Managing the transition from relief to recovery is a critical concern for the future. The pace of transition to recovery will vary from country to country and different approaches will be required. There was an early need for care in managing the phase out of military assets and their replacement by civil capabilities and a continuing concern that assistance gaps that have occurred in other transitions, such as Bam, where, for example the withdrawal of emergency health provision dramatically reduced access to much-needed care, would not be repeated. Managing the transition smoothly entails identifying those gaps that would cause harm to the recipients of the aid and ensuring a handover of responsibility, failure to do so can damage both the perception of a largely successful relief programme as well as to the recovery programme itself. It is expected that the post-disaster recovery phase will require concerted focus at all levels. Below is a discussion of the issues and challenges that have surfaced in the recovery phase to date.