Picking up the pieces. Caring for children affected by the tsunami

The objective of this report is to explore a range of options to better support the care and protection of children at risk of separation from their families or needing substitute care following the 2004 South Asia tsunami. The report covers three specific areas: Aceh Province in Indonesia, South India and Sri Lanka. It looks at what happened to the children who survived and assesses agency and government responses to the disaster. Specific achievements of the child protection sector include strong co-ordinated initial advocacy at government level to prevent adoption and institutionalisation; acceptance by governments that a co-ordinated approach to separated children was needed, with both governments and NGOs working to the standards in the Inter-agency Guiding Principles on Unaccompanied and Separated Children; and advice on child law and support to government social work teams. The study draws together key learning from the case studies and highlights ways forward.