The UN appeals for USD 38,000,000 to alleviate suffering and improve the quality of living for civilians in need in Guinea

Conakry - 19 November 2003. The United Nations today presented its 2004 Consolidated Appeal for humanitarian assistance for Guinea. The USD 38,000,000 sought from the international donor community is part of a global effort launched by the UN Secretary General in New York yesterday to help save the lives of 45 million people in 21 of the world's most serious crises, 17 of which are in Africa.
Located at the heart of instability that has plagued the Mano River Union countries for over a decade, Guinea remains a major stabilising factor in the West Africa sub-region and has provided refuge for vulnerable groups fleeing conflicts in four out of the six neighboring countries, namely Guinea-Bissau (1998-99), Liberia (since 1989), Sierra Leone (since 1990) and Côte d'Ivoire (since 2002).

Guinea is currently hosting over 100,000 refugees in camps. In addition to an estimated 70,000 refugees living outside camps, over 100,000 Guineans returned from Côte d'Ivoire as a result of the crisis that ensued the events in Abidjan of 19 September 2002. It is estimated that Guinean returnees from Côte d'Ivoire hosted by local communities in the areas along Ivorian borders make up over 10% of the population. UN humanitarian action aims to complement governmental and non-governmental relief efforts in order to alleviate suffering and improve the quality of living for all civilians in need, including host communities, returnees, IDPs and refugees.

Various UN agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO), plan to work with humanitarian partners in the following sectors: Protection (Refugee and Other Vulnerable groups); Coordination and Support Services; Food Security (Emergency Food Aid and Emergency Agriculture Assistance); Basic Social Services (Education, Health/Nutrition and Water/Sanitation); and Security.

The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator, supported by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), is responsible for the overall management of the UN's humanitarian work in Guinea. Further information on the humanitarian programme of the UN in Guinea is available from the Humanitarian Coordinator's Office.

OCHA Guinea
www.humanitarianinfo.org/guinea
E: ocha.gn@undp.org Tel: +224 (0)13 40 84 54 Fax: +224 13 40 93 10
BP. 222, Immeuble Union/Sony, Ave. de la République, Kaloum, Conakry, Republic of Guinea