UN $2.35 million to Guinea from Global Emergency Fund

(New York: 16 February 2007): The United Nations has made $2.35 million available from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for urgent humanitarian activities in the West African country of Guinea.

The humanitarian situation in Guinea has increasingly become a source of concern since 10 January 2007, when a general nationwide strike was launched. In particular, popular protest since 9 February over the choice of prime minister - a key component of the deal struck to end the January strike - and the subsequent declaration of a permanent curfew and martial law on 12 February have raised alarm.

According to a Government source, 110 deaths have been recorded since 10 January 2007, when the general strike began, with 60 of those fatalities having occurred between 9 and 13 February. More than 500 people sought treatment for injuries in hospitals, clinics and other health centres between 9 and 13 February.

Fearing that the unrest could provoke population movements, particularly among the refugee population living in Guinea's Forest region (Guinée Forestière), which numbers some 18,000 people, mainly from Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire, humanitarian organizations operating along the border are on alert and have been monitoring Guinea's borders on a continual basis. No unusual movement has been reported.

Additionally, four food warehouses had been looted - two belonging to the World Food Programme (WFP), in Kankan and Labé; and two belonging to Government partners - representing a loss of nearly 1,000 metric tons of food. In addition, international commercial flights to and from Guinea have been suspended for the past week, as have all air relief operations.

The CERF funds are to be used for the purchase of medicines and other medical supplies for the injured, as well as to support essential telecommunications and a common humanitarian air service to ensure access to more remote parts of the country, such as Guinée Forestière. These emergency projects will be carried out by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with their non-governmental partners.

The UNICEF will work to strengthen the capacity of 14 hospitals and 21 health centres by providing medications, medical equipment and logistical support, while the WFP will strengthen agencies' telecommunications capacity and run the common humanitarian air service made necessary by the lack of infrastructure, long distances between affected areas, and insecurity in Guinea. Reinforcing the health, communications and transport sectors, and strengthening the protection of civilians have been identified as current priorities by the humanitarian community.

Guinea is one of the 20 poorest countries in the world, ranking 160th (out of 177 countries) in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)'s Human Development Index.

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