Colombo, Sri Lanka (April 22, 2009) - CARE is providing lifesaving food, emergency supplies and shelter to thousands of people who have escaped the conflict in northern Sri Lanka. Survivors are dehydrated, hungry and exhausted after being trapped for months in one of the worst conflicts in the world today.

People are fleeing in the thousands, by boat or overland, and taking refuge in camps set up by the Government of Sri Lanka. Government figures are quoting as many as 70,000 people have managed to escape the conflict zone since April 20, as the Sri Lankan Army makes its final push against the Tamil Tigers (LTTE).

CARE is coordinating with the Government of Sri Lanka and other aid agencies to provide food and emergency supplies, and with tens of thousands more people escaping the conflict zone, the flow of assistance needs to increase.

CARE work crews are helping UNHCR put up tents for nearly 30,000 displaced people outside the conflict zone, and CARE is completing emergency shelters and latrines for an additional 3,000 people. CARE is providing hot meals, emergency supplies, and hygiene kits; building stands for drinking water tanks to provide fresh drinking water in the camps; and providing supplies for mothers with infants.

CARE is appealing for funds to provide enough food, emergency supplies, shelter and water and sanitation for the increasing flow of survivors out of the conflict zone.

While thousands have managed to escape, tens of thousands of people are still trapped by the fighting in an area of land the size of Manhattan's Central Park. CARE calls for the LTTE to allow civilians to safely leave the conflict zone. The safety of civilians and access to humanitarian aid must be ensured.

About CARE: CARE, which has worked in all parts of Sri Lanka since 1950, has extensive experience working with conflict-affected communities in northern and eastern Sri Lanka. Throughout the 25-year conflict, CARE has provided support for food production, infrastructure rehabilitation, savings and credit, income generation, and emergency assistance such as shelter, access to water and sanitation facilities.

Media contacts: Melanie Brooks (Geneva), +41.795903047, brooks@careinternational.org