Many women dying from pregnancy related problems, UNFPA says

The number of displaced Liberian women who have contracted reproductive tract infections and those dying from pregnancy related complications that could be treated is alarming, the United Nations population fund (UNFPA) said. "The number of women dying as a result of treatable complications of pregnancy remains alarmingly high. More funds are urgently needed to expand services," Deji Popoola, UNFPA's Representative in Liberia, said. According to UNFPA, many Liberian women had suffered sexual assaults and widespread rape by marauding fighters during 14 years of civil war. An agreement to end the war was signed by the Liberian government and the two main rebel groups, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) in August in Accra, Ghana. However skirmishes have continued in the north and southeast. Over the weekend, relief sources in Monrovia said that LURD rebels had again clashed with government fighters in the central Bong county. "We are only now regaining access to populations that have been denied all basic health services for years," UNFPA said. "Continuing war in Liberia has worsened an already severe humanitarian crisis and pushed maternal and infant mortality to levels not seen for decades." UNFPA said it was particularly concerned about the spread of HIV/AIDS due to widespread rape, lack of safe blood supply for transfusions and chaos caused by years of massive population movements - both within Liberia, and to and from neighbouring countries with high HIV prevalence rates. In recent weeks, the Fund has provided emergency obstetric equipment, drugs and medical supplies to hospitals and clinics around the Liberian capital, Monrovia, many of which were looted during heavy fighting earlier this year. It is training health workers and midwives working with Liberian refugees in neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone, and overseeing the local production of hygiene kits, including sanitary napkins, clean towels and soap for displaced Liberian women and girls. UNFPA launched a US $1.9 million appeal to donors in August to cover the immediate cost of critical interventions in safe motherhood, HIV prevention, psychosocial counseling and adolescent reproductive health. Meanwhile, relocation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from temporary shelters in Monrovia to the Montserrado camps has resumed, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said in its situation report on Friday. A task force was conducting a survey to determine the exact numbers of the displaced who have returned to Montserrado and those still remaining in the 189 temporary shelters in Monrovia. Preliminary findings show that at least 120,000 displaced people are in Montserrado county camps.