UN humanitarian coordinator complains of lack of resources

The humanitarian assistance received thus far for Liberia is not enough to cover its people’s needs and a crisis could ensue if the shortfall is not addressed before the coming rainy season, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Liberia, Abou Moussa, warned on Tuesday. “We thank the international community for the resources we have received so far, but they have not been to the [level] that would allow us to respond effectively to the population that is in need,” Moussa told IRIN after a meeting of humanitarian officials at the UN Development Programme office in the Liberian capital, Monrovia. Moussa, who is also the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Relief, Recovery and Rehabilitation, said that unless the required assistance was provided before the rainy season, which begins in April, there could be dire consequences for the already vulnerable Liberian population. “If this is not done, we may end up having an emergency within an emergency,” Moussa said. “Right now we are approaching the rainy season and the population is already vulnerable and fragile. It will become more vulnerable and fragile in the rainy season and so we need to act now.” Liberia is emerging from 14 years of almost continual civil war that has left the country in tatters. Fighting displaced hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed towns and villages. An international meeting of donors at UN headquarters in New York last month secured a hefty commitment of funds for the reconstruction of Liberia, but a US $ 177-million appeal for humanitarian assistance went virtually ignored. Food security is a major problem as is health care provision, particularly in the more inaccessible parts of the countryside. According to a report issued last week by the Jesuit Relief Service, 60 percent of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Liberia are expected to remain in camps at least until the start of the next planting season in October. Some IDPs are concerned over security, the report warns, and may remain in the camps – and dependent on food aid - until elections are held in 2005. According to UNHCR over 10,000 Liberian refugees have returned voluntarily from neighbouring Sierra Leone, and 3,400 of them have ended up in IDP camps. More refugees have returned from Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire and other countries in the region. There are already 300,000 IDPs in camps in Montserrado, Margibi and Bong Counties, according to UNHCR, which says that the camps are overcrowded and lack the necessary resources. Moussa told IRIN that the humanitarian agencies do not have the necessary resources to cope with the large number of former refugees who are flooding back into the country. He told IRIN that another major obstacle for the humanitarian effort was the issue of security, particularly in the interior of the country. “Some elements of the factions are still disturbing the population and still making life difficult for the civilians. This is a major concern for us. And so, we would like to call on them to desist from attacking, raping and taking away the little food that the civilians population have obtained,” Moussa said. UN peacekeeping forces began arriving in Liberia in August and the UN Security Council authorised a 15,000-strong peacekeeping mission in September. However, not all the troops have been deployed. Last month, Jacques Klein the UN’s Special Representative to Liberia, stated that the full compliment of troops would be on the ground by the end of February or early March. As at 31 January, about 11,450 had been deployed, and much of the countryside remains under the control of armed rebel groups and militia fighters.