Chavakachcheri, Sri Lanka — April 27, 2009 —IRD has sent a shipment of $1 million worth of pharmaceuticals to north-east Sri Lanka, where government forces are making a last push to defeat the Tamil Tigers rebel group. The United Nations says that as many as 3,000 civilians have been killed and another 7,000 have been injured during the fighting over the last two months. These supplies, which include antibacterials, antimalarials, and oral rehydration solution, will be delivered to hospitals in special camps set up for those who have fled the conflict. Approximately 61,000 people are living in these camps. With WHO funding, IRD is also constructing a temporary hospital ward to serve the Chavakachcheri area, where most of the IDPs are.

IRD has worked in Sri Lanka since 2004, in the immediate aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami. Through IRD’s work, thousands of people have learned to gain access to clean and safe drinking water using solar disinfection. Thousands more children have received specially fortified milk at school. IRD has also trained 300 emergency medical personnel in Jaffna, the main city in the contested Tamil region.