When disaster struck South Asia in December 2004 in the form of a massive tsunami, the ANA responded by working with the U.S. government relief effort to provide RN staffing through Project Hope, a nongovernmental relief organization, and the Navy hospital ship, the USS Mercy (for more on the USS Mercy, see Tsunami Report, April 2005). As a result of the efforts of the ANA and others, Project Hope received more than 2,000 resumes from health care professionals volunteering for 30-day deployments to the region. The ANA also maintained close contact with the International Council of Nurses, which acted as a liaison to national nurses associations in the region.

In addition, the ANA collaborated closely with Rabia Graney, PhD, RN, a member of the Massachusetts Association of Registered Nurses as well as a representative of the International Consulting Institute for Nursing, to solicit textbooks and other nursing education material for India and Sri Lanka. With the added assistance of the India Society of Health Administrators, this effort resulted in the reopening of many nursing schools in the area.