UN Humanitarian Envoy for the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire visits Guinea

NEW YORK, 4 February (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) In Guinea today, Carolyn McAskie, the Secretary-General's Humanitarian Envoy for the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire, is continuing her assessment of the impact of the crisis on neighboring countries.
During her mission in Guinea, Ms. McAskie will be looking at the humanitarian response to the needs created by the crisis, and ways to ensure that the response is well coordinated. In this connection, Ms. McAskie plans to meet with local authorities, representatives of the donor community, and representatives of non-governmental organizations.

While in Guinea, Ms. McAskie will be visiting refugees and others in the N'Zerekore region displaced by violence in Côte d'Ivoire. She will also be trying to assess the effect population influxes are having on host communities. Upon arrival in Guinea, Ms. McAskie praised Guinea for its longstanding generosity in hosting refugees from conflicts in West Africa.

The Guinean Red Cross and Service National d'Action Humanitaire estimate that more than 50,000 Guineans have fled Cote'd'Ivoire for Guinea since violence erupted in September. UNHCR is currently assisting nearly 3,000 Ivorian refugees at the Nonah camp, while the Guinean Red Cross has registered almost 11,000 Ivorians who have entered Guinea. The Guinean Red Cross has also registered more than 15,000 persons of other African nationalities who have crossed into Guinea from Côte d'Ivoire. The vast majority of these people are passing through the country in transit to their countries of origin, which include Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal, Niger and Nigeria.

Prior to the outbreak of armed conflict in Côte d'Ivoire on 19 September 2002, Guinea hosted more than 92,000 refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone. Guinea continues to rank among the least developed countries in the world, with only 49% of the population having access to drinking water, 45% to healthcare and 19% to sanitation. In November, the United Nations asked donors for $54 Million dollars to meet the humanitarian needs of Guineans and the refugees they host.

For further information, please contact: CONAKRY: Madeleine Maka 224 012 66 30 86