UNICEF Tsunami Communications Evaluation - An Assessment of the Impact of Major UNICEF Media Messages on Government and Aid Agency Policies and Programmes in Indonesia and Sri Lanka in the Aftermath to the Great Indian Ocean Tsunami of 26 December 2004

The great Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004 killed more people in a shorter space of time, and generated more media coverage and donor funding than any disaster in recent times.

UNICEF was one of a minority of international aid agencies that gained early prominence in the media coverage, and as a result received substantially more funding than it usually does in emergency operations – over half a billion dollars in five weeks. In ways that are not easy to quantify, the organization gained greater credibility and influence as well.

The tsunami experience dramatized the extraordinary relationship at the start of the 21st century between media technology and the speed of global response at individual, government and corporate levels. As a result of staff experience, corporate preparation and a series of fortuitous developments, UNICEF was able to benefit as an organization from the convergence of these factors and establish itself as a favored organization among individual and corporate donors, and fortify its international reputation as a voice for and guardian of the interests of children.