Humanitarian agencies do not have access to seven out of 12 districts in Sierra Leone, the UN Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Unit (HACU) said in a 7 March situation report.
The districts, Bombali, Tonkolili, Kambia, Kailahun, Koinadugu, and Port Loko, in the northern region and Kono in the east, make up 80 of Sierra Leone’s 149 chiefdoms and have a total population of some 2.4 million people. Operations in these areas, which are mainly limited to emergency relief, are carried out under very difficult circumstances and are characterised by frequent disruptions and uncertainty. Assistance programmes aimed at rehabilitation and reconstruction of devastated communities “await more favourable conditions”, HACU said.
In contrast to much of the north, Southern Province, Western Area and some parts of Eastern Province are relatively safe, resulting in programmes of reconstruction and rehabilitation in agriculture, education, road rehabilitation and restoration of health facilities, HACU reported. The police force and traditional chiefs are in place in some of these areas, helping to maintain law and order.
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