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Liberia

Liberia: UNMIL Humanitarian Situation Report No. 100

9 - 15 April 2007

Highlights

- Response to fire and storms continue; another storm incident reported

- More refugees return from Sierra Leone

- Feature on roads and humanitarian access in Liberia

1. ASSESSMENTS / MISSIONS / EMERGENCY RESPONSES

Update on response to fire and storms in four counties

A meeting was held on 13 April between the National Disaster & Relief Commission, the Liberia Refugee, Repatriation & Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) and HCS to discuss unmet needs in the response to the fire and storms in Nimba, Grand Cape Mount, Margibi and Lofa Counties. The three agencies concluded that outstanding needs exist for building materials to repair or reconstruct homes damaged by the storms in Ganta and Ven-La, respectively. There is an unmet need in Zuanii #2 in Grand Cape Mount County. In Dengadu, Lofa County, emergency food rations would help shield people from shocks in the food supply engendered by the fire incident.

The Commission will communicate these needs to the Government and relevant agencies for possible assistance. It is also considering a suggestion from HCS on the establishment of local disaster committees in all counties to help improve coordination of assistance in the event of natural or man-made disasters.

African Humanitarian Action (AHA) in collaboration with the Grand Cape Mount County Health Team has started operating a mobile clinic in Zuannii #2 and surrounding communities. Residents of the village are continuing to rebuild their homes with assistance from the Norwegian Refugee Council. An interagency assessment team visited Dengadu Town on 11 April to assess the needs of the town residents. The team recommended that additional assistance of food, cooking utensils, shelter materials, health, and mosquito nets be provided to ensure a sustainable recovery of the population. Samaritans Purse will reconstruct all 42 houses that were destroyed by the fire in Dengadu.

On 10 April, an inter-agency team led by the Liberia National Red Cross Society conducted a needs assessment in Saclepea District, Nimba County to determine the extent of damage caused by a storm on 8 April. The team visited six towns (Tonwin, Yenganpa, Airfield, New Giagblar, Mehnpa Highway and Kaipa) and inspected several homes and other structures reported to be affected by the storm. Initial findings indicate that no public structures were affected, and most of the houses affected by the storm were unoccupied.

2. Return & Resettlement

More refugees return from Sierra Leone

The current return of Liberian refugees from Sierra Leone continued during the week when 399 refugees arrived home on 13 April via Bo Waterside, Grand Cape Mount County. The returnees included 208 females and 191 males. Their final destinations included Grand Cape Mount, Gbarpolu, Bomi, Montserrado, Sinoe, Bong and Maryland Counties.

Screening of Ivorian asylum seekers in Grand Gedeh County

UNHCR and the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) are screening and verifying 4,500 Ivorian asylum seekers in Grand Gedeh County. The purpose of the exercise, which started on 9 April, is to ensure that both agencies have a comprehensive and updated profile of the refugee population. The exercise is expected to last for a month, and it involves screening, verifying and photographing of Ivorians who pre-registered as asylum seekers with LRRRC from 2004 to present.

3. Shelter & Infrastructure

Feature: roads and humanitarian access in Liberia

With the approach of the rainy season in a month's time, concerns are growing about the condition of roads and of accessibility to rural communities in many parts of rural Liberia. During the rainy season, poor road condition hampers mobility and road travel, cuts off large parts of rural Liberia, and prevents humanitarian and development agencies from accessing people in these communities.

There is an estimated 10,600 km of major roadways in Liberia. Of these, 657 km are paved and 9,943 km are unpaved. Fourteen years of war and crumbling road infrastructure led to a gradual reduction in the number of paved roads. The paucity of data on the status of roads and bridges in the country poses a difficulty in determining where the greatest needs lie. Moreover, most road rehabilitation projects in the past involved only the side brushing or grading of roads. As such, a road that is rehabilitated in the dry season may deteriorate during the next rainy season, thereby removing it from the list of roads that were in good condition a few months back.

Parts of the country most affected by lack of road infrastructure are Lofa and Gbarpolu Counties (in the northwest) and Grand Kru, Rivercess, River Gee and Sinoe Counties (in the southeast). Three of the six districts in Lofa County were inaccessible by car during the peak of the rainy season in 2006. In Gbarpolu County, Kongba and Belle-Fassama Districts were cut off from the county's two other districts (i.e. Bopolu and Gbarma). In Grand Kru, the entire county, save parts of Lower Kru Coast District, was inaccessible year-round. Over half of the land area of River Gee, Sinoe and Rivercess Counties were disconnected from the rest of the country by poor roads and bridges during the 2006 rainy season.

Many communities in Liberia are 'underserved' because of their lack of road infrastructure, which hampers access for humanitarian and development actors. Particularly, in the southeast of Liberia, communities lag behind in terms of access to healthcare, education, safe drinking water, improved hygiene and other facilities. For example, according to the Comprehensive Food Security and Nutrition Survey (CFSNS, 2006), in relatively accessible Bong and Grand Cape Mount Counties, access to improved water sources is 41% and 43%, respectively. In less accessible Grand Kru and Rivercess Counties, only 7% and 22% of people, respectively, have access to safe drinking water. The differentials in the indicators for health, education and food production indicate a strong relationship between road access and levels of service provision.

The most sustainable remedy to the current poor road conditions in Liberia is the construction of paved roads. However, the Government of Liberia and its partners cannot presently afford this huge investment. They are instead concentrating on the maintenance and repair of tarmac roads, grading and side-brushing of unpaved roads, and repair/construction of bridges along the roads that are being rehabilitated.

Forty-one road rehabilitation projects either have been completed or are on-going in Liberia since 2006. These projects are funded by the World Bank, UNMIL, the European Commission, the Government of The Netherlands, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), UNHCR, UNDP, GTZ, USAID, and WFP. UN agencies, UNMIL, international NGOs, local NGOs and the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) implement the projects in all 15 counties of Liberia.

Presently, the World Bank funds the largest road rehabilitation projects in Liberia. It has provided US$ 46.5 million for infrastructure projects since 2006, the largest portion of which goes to rehabilitation of roads and highways. The Ministry of Public Works, UNDP and UNMIL collaborate with the Bank in the implementation of the road projects. World Bank-funded road projects are being implemented in Grand Kru, Grand Gedeh, River Gee, Nimba, Montserrado, Grand Bassa, and Lofa Counties.

The European Commission has funded eight road rehabilitation projects in parts of the country. Five road projects in Sinoe, Nimba, Grand Bassa, River Cess, and Grand Bassa Counties are funded by USAID. The Government of The Netherlands, WFP and ILO all fund projects in the southeast, while UNDP and UNHCR fund projects in Nimba and Lofa Counties, respectively. In addition to these, several other agencies fund and implement small-scale road rehabilitation projects.

The Ministry of Public Works and the UNMIL Rehabilitation, Recovery and Reintegration Section (RRR) coordinate road rehabilitation activities in Liberia. At the county level, Road Task Forces led by representatives of the Ministry and RRR coordinate road rehabilitation activities, provide regular updates and conduct joint assessments and monitoring of projects. Their membership also includes humanitarian and development agencies who advocate for improved road access to remote and needy communities.

Much progress has been made in improving road access in many parts of Liberia since the start of the Government programme to rehabilitate roads. Sasstown and Buah, two key areas in Grand Kru County are now accessible for light vehicles, thanks to an ILO emergency road project that has rehabilitated 139 km of road and 12 log bridges leading to these areas. US Government funding for the construction of a key bridge that links upper and lower Grand Kru County has greatly improved accessibility in this area.

In Lofa County, refugee repatriation from Sierra Leone and Guinea was greatly hampered by poor road condition in Vahun and Foya Districts. Through an SDC/UNHCR/UNDP/UNMIL joint project, both districts are now accessible by road and the return process has gathered momentum. In Monrovia, the Ministry of Public Works has improved many neighbourhood roads.

Many of the road projects are labor-intensive. By providing food and cash for labor, they help to create short-term employment for community members who work on these projects, and help revive the local economy where the projects are implemented. So far, more than 3,000 community members are employed in the World Bank/UNMIL road projects, and by the time the projects are completed, 6,500 are expected to get short-term job opportunities. Road side-brushing has also provided work for many women, especially single mothers and widows.

Despite the achievements of past and current road projects in improving road access, the effects of these projects may not be long lasting given the impact of the rainy season. Road grading and side-brushing is mainly effective during the dry season. During the rains, the roads become difficult to navigate. Therefore, the creation and repair of drainage network on the road - as is done in the World Bank/UNMIL road projects - helps increase the lifespan of the road by reducing surface deterioration in the short run, and it should be employed in all road repair projects.

Sometimes the lack of community initiatives in road rehabilitation creates dependency, because people tend to view road side-brushing and simple bridge repair as the responsibility of NGOs and the Government. As such, a community-based road rehabilitation program that empowers local communities to play a greater role in the maintenance of roads in their communities, coupled with the regular maintenance of major arterial and feeder roads seem a more practical and effective strategy to ensure sustainability and local ownership. Local communities could be empowered to enable them carry out spot repairs on sections of the roads that may require repairs. At the end of a project, road maintenance kits could be provided to the local 'road brigades' who would carry out these repairs under the supervision of County Resident Engineers of the Ministry of Public Works.

With the gradual improvement in the road infrastructure, and as access to remote communities improves, it is expected that humanitarian and development assistance would reach the needy in these communities. Improvements in basic health, water and sanitation services would lead to better indicators of morbidity, food security, and overall improvement in community welfare.