United Nations calls for $3.64 million for Guinea-Bissau

(New York: 16 May 2006): The United Nations has launched a $3.64 million Flash Appeal for assistance to approximately 20,000 people made vulnerable by more than two months of armed confrontations between the Guinea-Bissau Army and a faction of the Senegalese separatist group, the MFDC (Mouvement des forces démocratiques de la Casamance).

Of the estimated 10,000 people displaced from the northern city of São Domingos and the surrounding area by the fighting, 7,500 have been internally displaced within the country (most staying with host families), while 2,500 have taken refuge across the border in Zinguinchor and other parts of Senegal. Eighty per cent of the displaced are women and children. The Flash Appeal will support humanitarian assistance for returning refugees, the internally displaced, and families that have hosted IDPs.

A major concern is that significant explosives remnant of war (ERW) continue to contaminate the former conflict zones and among the priorities established by the Flash Appeal is security and mine action. The end of military operations has prompted the displaced to begin to return; however, major roads, houses and property have been destroyed and access to farmlands has been hindered by fear of landmines. Additionally, although the cashew harvesting season is underway, many areas are not being harvested due to the presence of mines and IEDs.

Other priority areas for action include protection of civilians, water and sanitation, shelter, food aid, agriculture, health and education. Funding against the Flash Appeal will be used to sustain programmes jump-started by United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) using contingency stocks and funding from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), for which the Resident Coordinator has applied.

Guinea-Bissau, a West African country of some 1.4 million, ranks 172 of 177 countries on the 2005 UNDP Human Development Index. High food insecurity characterizes both rural and urban areas; only 36 per cent of total arable land is under cultivation due to a shortage of agricultural inputs, expertise and drainage and irrigation systems. A recent vulnerability assessment and mapping study done by the World Food Programme (WFP) classifies 34 per cent of households as "very vulnerable" to food insecurity and an additional 28 per cent as "vulnerable".

As many as 32 per cent of children under five are chronically malnourished, while 5.4 per cent suffer from acute malnutrition. Additionally, access to social services including health, education, water and electricity is limited and the national social and transport infrastructures are unable to meet demands. Some 44 per cent of the population lacks access to clean drinking water. In 2005, the country was struck by a nine-month cholera epidemic, which affected more than 20,000 and killed approximately 400 people.

United Nations agencies participating in the Flash Appeal include: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), on behalf of CAAMI; United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); WFP; Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); World Health Organization (WHO); United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The full text of the Flash Appeal for Guinea-Bissau is available at: www.reliefweb.int.

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570.