Liberia: Complex Emergency Situation Report #8 (FY 2004)

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)

Note: The last USAID/OFDA Liberia Situation Report was, dated November 20, 2003.

Background

Liberia has been marked by intermittent civil war since Charles Taylor launched a rebellion against the military regime of Samuel Doe in 1989. More than 200,000 people were killed during the ongoing conflict in Liberia in the 1990s. In 1997, Taylor emerged as the dominant power, winning the 1997 presidential election. Two opposition groups, controlling between 60 and 80 percent of the country, launched attacks on Government of Liberia (GOL) forces in attempts to oust Taylor from power. The main opposition group, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), which began fighting Taylor in 1999, has grown from a northern-based insurgent movement to a force that controls the majority of the country. The second opposition group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), based in southern Liberia, began incursions into Liberia from Côte d'Ivoire in April 2003, resulting in large-scale population displacement. LURD controls the north and center of the country, while MODEL controls the south and east. Taylor resigned on August 11, 2003. On August 17, GOL, LURD, and MODEL representatives signed a peace agreement in Accra, Ghana, allowing for a transitional government to assume power on October 14. The parties to the agreement chose Gyude Bryant as Chairman and Wesley Johnson as Vice-Chairman of the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL), which will remain in office until the election of a new government in October 2005. On October 1, the United Nations Mission to Liberia (UNMIL) was established. UNMIL will be comprised of 15,000 troops by early 2004 and will also contain approximately 1,115 police officers. Despite these developments, years of conflict have resulted in widespread human suffering in Liberia and the longstanding internal displacement of approximately 500,000 of the country's three million inhabitants.

Total FY 2004 USAID/OFDA Assistance to Liberia (To Date): $4,892,526
Total FY 2004 USG Humanitarian Assistance to Liberia (To Date): $16,592,526

Current Situation

Improved infrastructure in Monrovia. Electricity was restored to central Monrovia for the first time in more than a decade on November 21. The European Union restored electrical service through a diesel-powered generator, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA).

Improved access to Lofa County. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has rehabilitated the airstrip in Voinjama, near the border with Guinea, in order to support health and water projects. According to UN OCHA, the airstrip has been out of use for 14 years and the town has been cut off from humanitarian assistance since 1999. ICRC plans to fly supplies to Voinjama twice a week. ICRC has also begun chlorinating and rehabilitating wells and restoring health services to four towns in northern Lofa County: Kolahun, Foya, Voinjama, and Zorzor.

Status of UNMIL deployment. According to UNMIL, more than 5,000 peacekeeping troops were stationed in Liberia as of November 28.

Conflicting reports from Nimba County. International non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are receiving contradictory reports of fighting in and around Sagleipie from residents and local staff. As the area remains outside of the area of UNMIL deployment, verification of the reports remains difficult. The U. N. World Food Program (WFP) and UNMIL are developing an action plan to transport food to Sagleipie that will involve the establishment of a camp in Ganta and simultaneous assessment and food distribution trips during the week of December 8.

U.N. Livelihood Needs Assessment. The results of a U.N. survey of living conditions in Monrovia indicate that 250,000 people are living in precarious conditions, 63 percent on one meal per day. WFP, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Association (FAO), the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), the U.N. Development Program (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Ministry of Planning carried out a Livelihood Needs Assessment in September in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and poor suburbs of the city. According to the survey, 105,000 people are living in "extremely vulnerable" conditions and 146,000 in "very vulnerable" conditions. The survey also indicated acute malnutrition in 6.2 percent of all children aged between six months and five years.

Relocation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The Internally Displaced Persons Committee (IDPC), which is coordinated by UN OCHA, has prioritized the relocation of IDPs from schools in Harbel/Firestone based on reports from Liberia Refugee, Repatriation, and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) of increased tension between the 5,000 IDPs in the schools and the host communities. Relocation of these IDPs to Unification Town, Mount Barclay, and Ricks Institute is scheduled to begin on December 5.

The IDPC decided to close the following five irregular IDP shelters: Samuel K. Doe (SKD) Stadium, Masonic Temple, Internal Affairs, D-Tweh, and Kendija. IDPs living in these shelters will be offered the opportunity to relocate to an official camp. Through a sensitization campaign, the IDPC will inform IDPs who do not chose to relocate that humanitarian assistance will cease in the irregular shelters.

According to UN OCHA, 400 registered IDPs from Tubman High, an irregular shelter in Monrovia, were relocated to Fendell Agricultural College and Ricks Institute during the week of November 24. However, the actual number of newly arrived IDPs at the two camps may be higher depending on the number of unregistered IDPs that relocated.

Refugee repatriation. On December 1, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) repatriated 12 Sierra Leonean refugees by air from Monrovia to Freetown. To date in 2003, UNHCR has facilitated the return of 4,067 Sierra Leonean refugees, the majority by sea. UNHCR plans to resume overland repatriation as soon as security and road conditions allow. According to UNHCR, most of the estimated 14,000 Sierra Leonean refugees remaining in camps in Liberia are reluctant to return to Sierra Leone.

In order to reunite 1,800 people separated as a result of the conflict in Liberia, ICRC is conducting weekly cross-border family reunification missions to refugee camps in Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Back-to-School program. According to UN OCHA, by November 27, 6,200 teachers underwent Rapid Educational Response training, which is part of the Back-to-School campaign. In addition, according to UNICEF, teachers have begun receiving salaries for October and will be provided with a three-month food ration by WFP.

The U.S. Government (USG) is contributing to the Back-to-School program in a number of ways through USAID and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM). State/PRM's contribution of $1.6 million to UNICEF for water and sanitation activities is being used to upgrade water supply and sanitation installations in schools throughout accessible areas of the country. USAID's Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) has provided approximately 4,600 metric tons (MT) or 55 percent of food commodities needed for the emergency school feeding program. USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) has provided funds to purchase cooking pots, ladles, plates, and spoons for preparing and serving food to 25,000 children in 100 schools.

Disarmament and demobilization campaign. The first meeting of the National Commission on Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration (NCDDRR) convened on November 27. The NCDDRR is mandated to coordinate all DDRR activities and includes representatives from the NTGL, LURD, MODEL, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the U.N.

The U.N. formally launched the DDRR campaign on December 1, as planned. In order to facilitate the DDRR of Liberia's estimated 38,000 combatants, the first cantonment center for former GOL troops opened on the outskirts of Monrovia on December 1. There are separate cantonment centers for LURD in Tubmanburg and MODEL in Buchanan. At these cantonment sites, up to 1,000 fighters at a time will surrender weapons and undergo a three-week screening process. The ex-combatants will receive an initial payment of $150 upon the surrender of weapons, followed by a $150 grant. The former combatants will then be transferred to other U.N. agencies that will supervise their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. UNMIL plans to open up to 10 cantonment sites by April 2004.

Food distributions under DDRR. By November 26, WFP and implementing partner Première Urgence (PU) provided food to 850 former combatants and dependants in Compound Number One and Scheiffelin, where former GOL forces have voluntarily disarmed and are awaiting the start of the formal cantonment process. On November 28, WFP and PU provided .75 MT of mixed commodities to 107 former militia and their dependants at Compound Number 1. Each ex-combatant received a 13-day ration of rice, pulses, vegetable oil, salt, and sugar. WFP purchased the rice on behalf of UNMIL. On December 1, WFP distributed 2.5 MT of food commodities to 510 former combatants in Scheiffelin.

Health situation. According to WHO, the incidence of cholera is declining in Liberia while cases of bloody diarrhea are increasing steadily. WHO suspects that the bloody diarrhea, which is most prevalent in Bong County, is shigella.

Through the coordinated efforts of UNICEF, the Ministry of Health, WHO, and international NGOs, 614,769 Liberian children between six months of 14 years have been immunized against measles since June 2003, according to UN OCHA. Save the Children Fund-U.K. (SCF) reported that one million doses of Vitamin A, supplied by UNICEF, were unloaded at Monrovia's Freeport. The arrival of the Vitamin A will allow SCF to resume the measles vaccination campaign in Montserrado County that was suspended due to the delayed arrival of the doses. SCF also plans to begin an immunization campaign in coordination with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Bong County on December 5 that will target a total of 60,000 beneficiaries.

On November 29, Johns Hopkins Malaria Emergency Technical and Operational Response (MENTOR) reported that insecticide residual spraying (IRS) was completed in the SKD Stadium and in 1,500 shelters in the E.J. Yancy IDP camp. In addition, IRS was completed in 2,108 out of 3,491 shelters in Maimu I IDP camp.

Ongoing food distributions. A WFP convoy of 42 MT of food arrived in the Harper area, Maryland County, on November 22. On December 1, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) began distributing two-week food rations to approximately 5,000 beneficiaries in five villages.

Emergency School Feeding (ESF). Between November 20 and 26, WFP and implementing partners delivered a monthly food ration to 40 schools under the ESF program. A total of 58 MT was provided to the schools, benefiting 9,472 students in Montserrado and Margibi Counties. A food distribution to the additional 98 schools that met assessment criteria for the ESF program is scheduled for the week of December 1.

USG Humanitarian Assistance

Non-food assistance. In FY 2003, USAID/OFDA obligated more than $5.5 million to support humanitarian needs in Liberia. In FY 2004, USAID/OFDA has committed approximately $4.9 million to support humanitarian activities in Liberia. USAID/OFDA obligated more than $1 million to Oxfam to support water and sanitation and protection activities. USAID/OFDA approved more than $400,000 to the IRC to support measles immunization programs. USAID/OFDA obligated more than $1,400,000 to Merlin for health, non-food items, and water and sanitation activities. In support of targeted feeding programs, USAID/OFDA obligated more than $265,000 to Action Against Hunger (ACF). In support of Unification Camp, USAID/OFDA approved more than $455,000 to the American Refugee Committee (ARC) for camp management and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) activities. USAID/OFDA has also committed approximately $440,000 for Northwest Medical Teams International to undertake health activities in Liberia.

From August through the end of October, a USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) was based in Monrovia to assess humanitarian needs and coordinate the provision of USG-funded assistance to vulnerable populations in accessible areas of Liberia. The DART has been replaced by a USAID/DCHA humanitarian team consisting of a full-time USAID/OFDA Field Officer based in Monrovia, and regular regional support from the USAID/Food for Peace (FFP) Officer and USAID/OFDA Program Officer, both based in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Emergency food assistance. In FY 2003 USAID/FFP provided a total of 24,480 MT of P.L. 480 Title II emergency food assistance, valued at $16.7 million, to Liberia. To date in FY 2004, USAID/FFP has provided an additional 19,330 MT valued at approximately $11.7 million. The commodities provided by USAID/FFP include a combination of cereals, pulses, and vegetable oil, and corn-soya blend (CSB) for therapeutic and supplementary feeding. USAID/FFP emergency food assistance is provided to vulnerable populations through direct distribution, food for work programs, emergency school feeding, maternal and child health programs, and supplementary and therapeutic feeding programs. USAID/FFP programs are implemented in Liberia through WFP and Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

Refugee assistance. State/PRM has provided support for Liberian refugees since 1989 and for Sierra Leonean refugees in Liberia since 1991. In FY 2003, State/PRM provided more than $12 million in response to the Liberia crisis. This funding includes $4.3 million to UNHCR for assistance to refugees in and from Liberia, $4.4 million to ICRC for assistance to conflict victims, $826,164 to WFP in support of WFP's trucking capacity in Liberia, nearly $1.6 million to UNICEF for water and sanitation efforts in support of populations in Liberia, $251,177 to IRC to prevent SGBV, $298,000 to UNDP and the U.N. Security Coordinator (UNSECOORD) in support of field security offices, and $738,095 to support WHO's water and sanitation efforts as well as disease monitoring and assistance.

State/PRM has also provided nearly $13 million to UNHCR and more than $13 million to various NGOs to support Liberian refugees in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. This is in addition to unearmarked funding for UNHCR for Africa ($54.6 million) and ICRC for Africa ($52.6 million).