LIBERIA’S HUMANITARIAN NEEDS INCREASE, AS SECURITY SITUATION DETERIORATES

LIBERIA’S HUMANITARIAN NEEDS INCREASE, AS SECURITY SITUATION DETERIORATES

NEW YORK, 9 April (OCHA) -- Widespread fighting in western, northern and eastern Liberia is cutting off those most in need from humanitarian aid, said the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today.  Aid agencies in Liberia fear the supplies they have will not be enough to meet growing needs.  Many of the people endangered and displaced by the deteriorating security situation are either Liberians who have been displaced before or refugees from neighbouring countries such as Côte d’Ivoire.

Fighting in the eastern part of the country has placed civilians, including refugees fleeing conflict in neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire, at risk.  Third country nationals -- people transiting Liberia to their homes in places like Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso -- in the area are also affected.  The overall number and condition of people in need in areas of Nimba County are unknown, as access to this area has become impossible.  There are also serious concerns over the security of humanitarian personnel.  Many of the 200 humanitarian workers who lost contact with their respective offices during heavy fighting around the eastern town of Zwedru on 27 March remain unaccounted for. The environment in the area has become so dangerous that many aid agencies have had to withdraw their personnel.

An increasing number of Liberians are being forced to flee within their own borders, many of them for the second or third time.  Fighting near the northern town of Gbarnga has displaced more than 20,000 people, who then sought shelter in Ganta.  When fighting spread to Ganta, some 15,000 of these new arrivals were forced to flee again, as were some 30,000 residents of that town.  Thousands of these people have now fled into neighbouring Guinea.  In addition, a recent attack by Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebels at an internally displaced persons center, just 19 kilometres from Monrovia, drove some 25,000 displaced people out of their temporary shelter.

Poor security and the resulting fluid movements of vulnerable populations it causes leave humanitarian workers unable to reach people in need in the most affected areas.  Emergency interventions have become more difficult, and planned health-care interventions like vaccinations against measles have been postponed.  In the areas where access is possible, mainly near Monrovia, humanitarian agencies are running low on the supplies they need to help people.  With the rainy season fast approaching and internally displaced person numbers on the rise, United Nations humanitarian agencies and their non-governmental organization partners are trying to cope with shortages in shelter materials.  Shortages have also prompted the World Food Programme (WFP) to reduce the rations of food it will distribute for April and May.

Aid agencies fear these supply shortfalls will soon become worse because programmes for food, shelter, emergency health, and human rights protection have not received any donor contributions.  To date, donors have provided just 2 per cent of the $42.6 million in funding required under the 2003 United Nations Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for Liberia.  United Nations humanitarian agencies in Liberia urge donors to enable them to assist vulnerable Liberians by urgently funding the Consolidated Appeal for that country.

For further information, please contact New York:  Brian Grogan,

tel. (212) 963-1143.

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