United Nations Humanitarian Fund Gives $6 Million for Ivoirian Refugees in Liberia

(New York, 8 March 2011) The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated US$6 million dollars to help tens of thousands of refugees who have fled to Liberia from Côte d'Ivoire.

More than 70,000 Ivoirians have registered as refugees in Liberia since instability and violence erupted in the wake of Côte d'Ivoire's presidential elections. Some 30,000 people have arrived in the past three weeks alone, with many citing high risk of sexual and gender-based violence and fear of forced conscription as reasons for fleeing.

As part of ongoing efforts to help, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will use some $ 2.3 million in CERF funding to strengthen protection monitoring at the Liberian border, construct shelters in refugee camps, and carry out distribution of non-food items. Another $2 million has been allocated to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for emergency nutrition and WASH response as well as emergency education and protection for children affected by the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire. The World Food Programme (WFP) will receive some $900,000 for regional logistics and telecommunications augmentation in Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will use $500,000 for emergency food security assistance to refugees and host families in Nimba County.

The remainder will be divided among the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), for various programmes to help refugees and the communities that host them.

The $6 million allocation will be counted against the $55 million Appeal for Liberia, which is currently only 28% funded.

CERF was established by the United Nations General Assembly five years ago this month to make funding for humanitarian emergencies faster and more equitable. Since then, more than 120 Member States and dozens private sector donors have pledged some $2.3 billion to the Fund, which is managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In the first five years of operation, CERF has allocated nearly $2 billion for humanitarian agencies operating in some 80 countries.

For further information, please call:

OCHA-New York: Stephanie Bunker, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 347 244 2106, bunker@un.org;
Nicholas Reader, +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org,
OCHA-Geneva: Elisabeth Byrs, +41 22 917 2653, mobile +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org

OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int

For more information about CERF, please see http://cerf.un.org

The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors