UN ISSUES FLASH APPEAL FOR LIBERIA

(New York, 19 January 2011): In response to the current political crisis in Côte d'Ivoire, which has lead to the arrival of an estimated 30,000 refugees in neighbouring Liberia, the United Nations and the International Organisation for Migration have launched the Liberia Emergency Humanitarian Action Plan for 2011. The US$55 million Plan spells out the funding required to meet the needs of both current and projected refugees and for other affected people in Liberia for the next six months. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is providing overall coordination of the operation.

So far, Liberian households in 23 villages in the east of the country have opened their doors to refugees from Côte d'Ivoire, which has stretched the resources of host families. With additional people crossing the border daily - most of them women and children under 18 - health, water and other basic services are limited and cannot sustain the pressure of increased numbers of people. Work is therefore underway at Bahn on the building of a new camp for refugees. The World Food Programme (WFP) is providing food; the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is providing safe water, nutritional support, education support, and non-food items, while the World Health Organization has prepositioned emergency health kits for 20,000 people. Funds are urgently needed to scale up these activities.

The largest portion of the appeal ($31 million) is funding sought by UNHCR for providing protection and assistance to refugees, including shelter, camp management, and non-food items; UNHCR will also oversee crucial logistics activities such as road and airstrip repair. The second largest sector is food security, which requires $10.8 million for helping refugees and host communities meet their food requirements. Other support provided through the Plan includes nutrition, health care, water, sanitation and hygiene, protection, education and logistics.

"There is an urgent need to boost the humanitarian response without any delay," said Moustapha Soumare, Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator for Liberia. "We should not forget that Liberia is in a post-conflict mode and just emerging from a 14-year civil war with presidential elections coming up very soon. The increasing presence of refugees is already putting a strain on the Liberian communities hosting them. This Plan is an appeal to the donors and the humanitarian community to act urgently for responding to the needs of Ivoirian refugees and sustaining the reconstruction efforts in Liberia."

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