UNITED NATIONS, April 28 (UPI) -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, the U.N. tsunami recovery envoy, says substantial reconstruction progress has been made but formidable challenges remain.
He told the fourth meeting of the Global Consortium on Tsunami Recovery, held at UNICEF headquarters in New York Friday, "We are now in what may be the most challenging part of the recovery process, as governments implement longer term reconstruction and economic development efforts."
More than 200,000 people were killed by the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami that struck Dec. 26, 2004.
Clinton said: "There is substantial progress to report in areas like home and school construction and a welcome rebound in tourist arrivals but we still face formidable challenges, from addressing the housing needs of displaced persons, to increasing timber supplies without endangering forests, to addressing the remaining $100 million funding gap in the Maldives."
In addition, the special envoy called for an all-out effort to get the last 40,000 people out of tents in Aceh, located on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island, in the next two months. He also expressed concern about the increased violence in Sri Lanka, and its impact on the recovery process in the island nation.
Citing progress made over the past 16 months, the former president noted, among other achievements, some 100,000 new homes that have been built or are under construction across the tsunami-hit region, with tens of thousands more in the pipeline. About 550 permanent schools have either been completed or are under construction.
The meeting involved government representatives of countries that were hit by the tsunami, as well as delegates from donor countries, non-governmental organizations, international financial institutions and U.N. agencies.
