Highlights
Peace building efforts receive a boost
US$ 15 million peace building fund for Liberia
The Government of Liberia and the UN have announced the award of a US$ 15 million grant by the UN Peace Building Fund to Liberia in support of peace building efforts in Liberia over a two-year period. The grant will be administered by a Joint Steering Committee, which is co-chaired by the Minister of Internal Affairs and the UN Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General (DSRSG) for Recovery and Governance. The membership of the Steering Committee includes Government, UN, World Bank, donors, and civil society. The press release that announced the award states that the grant will be used to "advance reconciliation, peace and security as a key component of recovery and the national development agenda..."
Humanitarian community's invaluable work in Liberia lauded by outgoing SRSG
The outgoing Special Representative of the UN Secretary General to Liberia, Mr. Alan Doss has congratulated humanitarian agencies/organizations for their role in addressing the humanitarian needs in Liberia over the past two years. He urged NGOs and the UN to continue working towards the provision of health, water and sanitation and other basic social services that will help sustain the peace and steer the country on the path to development. He noted that although the country was now on the path to recovery and development, many humanitarian challenges remain.
Mr. Doss expressed the hope that access to humanitarian and development assistance would increase in the coming months through improved road conditions, especially in previously inaccessible areas. Representatives of the Management Steering Group (INGO consortium) and faith-based organizations thanked Mr. Doss for his support during his stay in Liberia. They emphasized that peace and access justice are two of the necessary pre-conditions for a development process to take hold.
CERF implementation update
The implementation of emergency life-saving projects, funded by the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund, has reached the second month. One of the seven projects (WHO Integrated Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Campaign) has been completed. The other six projects are progressing according to their implementation plans. An integrated monitoring system is in place to track progress, challenges and constraints. Poor road conditions in south-east Liberia pose a major challenge to implementation in some locations.
US BPRM mission to Liberia
The US Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (BPRM) recently ended an assessment and evaluation mission to Liberia. The mission members were the BPRM West Africa Programme Officer and the Regional Refugee Coordinator. During their stay in Liberia (4-12 December), the two-person team assessed BPRM-funded projects implemented by UNHCR, the International Medical Corps and the Center for Victims of Tortures (CVT). According to an UNHCR release, the mission noticed the need for continued funding of refugee reintegration programmes in Liberia, but expressed its concern over the visible lack of basic infrastructure and local capacity to assume ownership and leadership of projects when funding ends.