Liberia: Agencies assess conditions in Buchanan

(New York: 24 October 2003) - Mr. Abou Moussa, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Liberia and Humanitarian Coordinator led an inter-Agency Mission to Buchanan (22 October), some 90 km south of Monrovia, in an assessment of the general humanitarian situation there. During the visit, The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) delivered a truckload of supplies including blankets, kitchen sets and tarpaulins for distribution to internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the Catholic mission compound.
The mission found that Buchanan Government Hospital is fully operational, with an average of about 150 outpatients daily. The main diseases reported include malaria, upper respiratory tract infections, skin and diarrhoeal diseases including cholera. The Oriental Timber Company Hospital that is running an Out-patient Department was partially looted during the fighting and lacks electricity and water. The UN team has recommended an assessment to ascertain the spare parts required to have the generator repaired. During the visit, UNICEF donated two drug kits to the hospital.

A supervisor at MSF-Holland operated Therapeutic Feeding Centre in Buchanan indicated, that insecurity could not allow for meaningful nutritional assessments to be carried out. As a result, the number of inpatients at the TFC is not representative of the malnutrition levels in Buchanan and environs.

The food situation has apparently improved following a drop in the price of rice. A cup of rice that sold for L$75 is currently selling for L$10. A lot of commodities were seen on the market but few could afford to buy. Nevertheless, the population is still high and has been compounded by new influxes. The mission was informed that last Monday, eighty new arrivals were registered at the Louisa IDP camp.

Elsewhere in Liberia, FAO is conducting a needs assessment to identify the most vulnerable farming families in Montserrado, Bong, Margibi, Bassa and Maryland Counties. Between October and the end of the year, FAO in collaboration with implementing partners is planning to distribute vegetable kits and hand tools to farmers in the five counties. Procurement of seeds and tools is in progress and distribution is expected to commence early November.

An inter-Agency Mission was fielded (21 October) to Kakata camps, the team comprised UNICEF, American Refugee Committee (ARC), USAID/DART, ZOA, UNHCR and OCHA.

Three hundred twenty five IDPs have been relocated (20 October) from irregular shelters in Monrovia to Fendell and the Montserrado camps, bringing the total number of IDPs relocated to 3,443. In Fendall, the aid community has provided water, and has begun rehabilitating latrines.

In Maimu camps 1, 2, and 3 in Totota, the aid community is distributing supplies including blankets, buckets, insecticide-treated tarps, straw mats and pots The IRC today delivered medical supplies to clinics in Nimba County.