IOM has today appealed for US$ 41.6 million to provide urgently needed aid to thousands escaping the violence in Côte d'Ivoire and to avert a looming humanitarian catastrophe.
The situation in the capital Abidjan, and in the west and central regions of the country, has dramatically deteriorated due to continued heavy fighting. Thousands of civilians have been trapped inside their houses without food and water for more than a week. It is estimated that over 1 m people have left their homes in Abidjan and are now sheltering with relatives.
Reports from Abidjan indicate that large numbers of dead bodies are strewn in the streets and entire neighbourhoods are without electricity and water. The city, home to five million people, has a severe shortage of water treatment products. It is feared that this could lead to an early outbreak of water-borne diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea.
As part of the UN Emergency Humanitarian Action Plan (EHAP) for Cote d'Ivoire and neighbouring countries, IOM is appealing for funds to provide emergency camp management support and humanitarian assistance including shelter, food, water, medicine and non-food relief items to internally displaced people (IDPs.)
It is also appealing for funding to provide return assistance to an estimated 200,000 stranded migrants from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal, who are fleeing Cote d'Ivoire.
As the lead agencies for Camp Coordination and Management, IOM and UNHCR will work to identify and register an estimated 800,000 IDPs scattered around the country; assess their needs and ensure that camps and other sites where the IDPs are sheltering are safe for all residents; ensure the effective delivery of protection and assistance; collect and disseminate accurate information for effective planning and response; and ensure that Gender Based Violence (GBV) and other protection risks are minimized, amongst others.
Working with UNHCR, the lead agency in charge of protection, IOM will help to provide access to water, sanitation facilities, food, and shelter; ensure that vulnerable populations, such as unaccompanied or separated children, female and child-headed households, child soldiers, and people with disabilities, have access to healthcare and psycho-social support; strengthen the monitoring system at borders; as well as data collection, management and reporting systems to identify protection concerns.
IOM staff, in coordination with Caritas, UNHCR and WFP, have registered and assisted more than 25,000 IDPs who have sought refuge in and around a Catholic mission in Duekoue, and who are in dire need of food, water, shelter, medical and sanitation assistance, as well as cooking sets, jerry cans, sleeping mats, soap and blankets.
This assistance is part of IOM operations underway since January in Cote D'Ivoire and surrounding countries to help IDPs, refugees and migrants affected by the crisis, in collaboration with authorities, the UN and other partners.
In January, IOM appealed for an initial US$ 3.5 million to carry out a range of operations including assisting IDPs, third country nationals and stranded migrants in Cote d'Ivoire.
For further information, please contact Jumbe Omari Jumbe, at IOM Geneva Tel: + 41-22-717-9405. Email: jjumbe@iom.int