WFP extends food distribution in Nimba, plans start in Bomi

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday that it was extending its food distribution operation in Nimba County in north central Liberia and would start handing out rations in Bomi county, just north of the capital Monrovia, later this week. Justin Bagarishya, the head of WFP operations in Liberia, said a two-week food ration was distributed to 21,000 vulnerable people in Saclepea in Nimba County between 22 and 26 January. Altogether just over 100 tonnes of food was handed out, he added. Bagarishya said WFP would carry out further distributions in Saclepea every two weeks and would soon extend its operations in Nimba County to the town of Sanniquellie, 60 km further north. He said there was "a critical humanitarian situation," in northern Liberia, which until recently had been cut off from the rest of the country. "We are planning to carry out food distribution in other parts of Nimba, most especially Sanniquellie, immediately after an assessment to be carried out very soon," Bagarishya told IRIN. "We heard that the humanitarian situation in that town is very serious and critical." The WFP representative said he was particularly concerned to get food aid to people living in remote areas of the bush. "Our concern is not only for people living in towns. We want to reach out to those in villages far from the main towns. We can imagine how serious their plight would be after not having access to food aid for a close to a year." Bagarishya said that by Saturday, WFP would also start distributing food in Tubmanburg, the headquarters town of Bomi County, 60 km north of Monrovia. Although Tubmanburg is close to the capital, it is a military stronghold of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebel movement and until recently access to the town for humanitarian organisations was difficult. However the situation has improved since UN peacekeepers were deployed there in late December. "By Saturday we expect to take a food convoy to Tubmanburg where we have assessed that the need for food assistance is urgent," Bagarishya said.