IDPs arriving in poor condition after weeks-long trek, MSF says

Most of the 10,000 people who fled the northern Liberian county of Lofa and arrived at the town of Gbarnga in neighbouring Bong County have been showing signs of physical weakness, including some who have been suffering from diarrhoea, Medecins sans frontieres (MSF) said in a news release on Monday. It said the internally displaced persons (IDPs) had had to walk several days through the forest after leaving their villages three weeks ago. Hundreds of others were still blocked at the Saint Paul Bridge, close to Gbarnga, according to MSF. The NGO said that authorization to cross the bridge was given last week by the authorities, but only women, children and the elderly were being allowed over, under the supervision of Liberian soldiers. MSF said that, to help the IDPs, and because it expects further population movements from northern Lofa, it had decided to strengthen its operations in the area by airlifting 30 mt of emergency medical supplies and logistical equipment to Monrovia. Northern Lofa used to have a population of around 50,000, according to MSF. Aid organisations are not allowed by the authorities to go there, but when an MSF team last visited the area, in mid-January, the situation was already critical as some residents had fled into the surrounding bush. Since then, the hospitals at Foya, Kolahun and Voinjama, three of the county’s main towns, have been destroyed or partially burned, MSF said. MSF said its on-site teams were putting up medical facilities for IDPs who had arrived at Gbalatuah and Cari, close to Gbarnga, where a camp has been set up. Health services are also being offered at another camp set up by MSF in Jenne Manna to the southwest. [For more information, see the MSF website at http://www.msf.org/]