WFP seeks additional funds for refugees, returnees

The World Food Programme (WFP) is seeking additional funds for relocated refugees and returnees in Guinea and Sierra Leone, WFP spokesman Ramin Rafirasme told IRIN on Monday.

Rafirasme said WFP would need an extra US $10 million to US $15 million this year for the Mano River countries (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone). He said an appeal to this effect was made on Sunday by the agency’s director for Africa, Manuel da Silva. Da Silva left Guinea on Monday after a three-day visit.

WFP’s food pipeline for the three countries is secure up to the end of June, said Rafirasme, who stated that his agency was “extremely grateful for the response from the international community since January,” when the refugee crisis in Guinea deteriorated following fighting between insurgents and government forces in southern Guinea.

Thousands of refugees are being relocated from the area around Gueckedou and the nearby ‘Parrot’s Beak’, a tongue of Guinean territory that juts into Sierra Leone. Most of the refugees had lived there for years and were able to cater for some of their needs. Transferred to new camps, they no longer have any coping mechanisms, and are thus totally dependent on food aid, which increases the quantity of supplies relief agencies need to provide for them, Rafirasme explained. Refugees who opt for voluntary repatriation to Sierra Leone, as thousands have already done this year, also need support.
[See separate item titled ‘WEST AFRICA: Racing against time, rain and insecurity in Guinea ‘]