ReliefWeb

265 Ivorian refugees voluntarily repatriated to Cote d’Ivoire.

2 Verification exercises finalized in PTP Camp and Little Wlebo Camp

9,524 Total number of refugees remaining in Liberia

CONTEXT HIGHLIGHTS

■ Police admit rise in crimes

Police authorities in Monrovia admit a rising crimes in the city, describing the high wave of armed robbery and other criminalities in Monrovia and parts of the country as alarming.

On 15 May 2018, Police Spokesman Moses Carter told a press briefing that there was no specific reason for the increase but cited people taking the law into their own hands as a factor of this high wave of robberies. In a police crimes report, the spokesman listed armed robbery cases; accident cases which in some ways were countered by mob actions; and murder cases.

■ No Ebola in Liberia

On 24 May 2018, the Director for the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), Tolbert Nyenswah, stated that there is no Ebola outbreak in Liberia. Speaking at the Ministry of Information’s regular press briefing, Nyenswah indicated that the outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is at a low risk and has not posed threat on international travels.

The assurance comes after a resurface of the deadly virus in DRC with 51 cases reported, including 28 confirmed. The Ebola virus outbreak in Liberia in 2014 took over 5,000 lives.

■ School Attendance in South-eastern Liberia Decline Due to Pause on School-feeding Program

A strong decline in school attendance has been reported in the South-eastern counties of Liberia due to a long pause on the supply of food for education in the schools in the area. The school meal programme is a decisive factor to increase enrolment, attendance, retention and completion rates of students.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has been collaborating with the World Food Programme (WFP) and Mary’s Meals International to run the school feeding programs across the country. However, the school meals have recently been stopped.

This situation has also affected the schools at the three refugee camps (Bahn, PPT and Little Wlebo). In Zwedru (Grand Gedeh), the MoE is expected to advocate for the inclusion of Tchien Public School (PTP Camp) in Save the Children’s feeding programme