Ivoirians are still crossing from western Côte d’Ivoire into Liberia at a rate of 400 to 600 a day, according to an “initial refugee assessment” issued by the UN World Food Programme.
Using data drawn from a four-day mission to Liberia border areas earlier this month, the WFP’s study on the Ivoirian refugee influx and food security notes that “refugee consumption is inadequate” and highlights the need for refugees to receive either full food rations or partial rations complemented by supplementary feeding.
WFP also proposes food-for-work schemes for 20 percent of the host community “most exposed to the negative consequences of the refugee influx” and an extension of supplementary feeding activities in the host area.
Most of the refugee population has been concentrated in Liberia’s northeastern Nimba County, with a tiny percentage farther south in Grand Geddeh county. Current estimates put the official refugee population at around 25,000, while the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and partner agencies have made contingency plans for 50,000.
The WFP report notes that ordinary households are often hosting between three and five refugees. In some areas, the refugees outnumber the host population; it cites the example of the border village of Loguato, where 5,307 refugees are living with just 1,743 locals.
Among the NGOs most active in dealing with the influx has been Equip Liberia, based in Monrovia, but with a longstanding presence in Nimba. The head of Equip Liberia, David Waines, said emergency funding from USAID had enabled it to recruit new staff and rapidly expand its allocation of medicines and general healthcare provided through health clinics in the 23 areas where refugees were entering.
Read more of the story here at the IRIN news service:
COTE D’IVOIRE-LIBERIA: Planning for the refugee influx
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