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Côte d'Ivoire + 3 more

Liberia: UNMIL Humanitarian Situation Report No. 135

21 - 27 January 2008

HIGHLIGHTS

- Liberia president pledges support to child survival programmes

Liberia president stresses focus on education during launch of UNICEF's State of the World's Children Report

The local launch of the State of the World's Children 2008 was held in Monrovia on 22 January 2008. Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia performed the official launching exercise and pledged her Government's support to providing universal primary education for all children in Liberia. President Sirleaf also contributed an article to the Report in which she stressed that 'the Government of Liberia is making strenuous efforts to significantly reduce child morbidity and mortality by 2011', adding that 'a national health policy and plan of action leading to universal access have been developed and are being implemented...'

The State of the World Children 2008 (http://www.unicef.org/sowc08) emphasized the need to 'increase access to treatments and means of prevention, so the devastating impact of pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria, severe acute malnutrition and HIV can be better addressed'. It estimates that worldwide 26,000 children under the age of five years die daily and needlessly from preventable causes. Assessing worldwide progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the Report asserts that 'half of the world's regions are making insufficient progress towards MDG Four': i.e. reduction in child mortality.

In 2007, the Liberia Demographic and Health Survey (conducted from December 2006 to July 2007) found an infant mortality rate of 72 per 1,000 live births in 2006/2007, and that only 39% of children are reported to have been fully immunized against major preventable childhood diseases. It also found that nearly 40% of children under five years surveyed had stunted growth, indicating chronic malnutrition. A decline in the total birth rate by one child per woman was also found, with the total fertility rate now 5.2 children per woman.

Major bridge to boost returnee reintegration programme in northern Liberia

UNHCR announced the completion and opening of a newly constructed bridge that connects Vahun District to the rest of Lofa County in northern Liberia. The Vahun Bridge will enable direct access to Vahun District (pop. 24,000) and its 56 towns and villages. UNHCR funded the bridge construction to provide direct link to the District and to enhance reintegration assistance to the residents of the District, most of who are returnees.

Prior to the completion of the Vahun Bridge, the only access to Vahun District was via neighbouring Sierra Leone, because the district was usually cut off from the rest of Liberia by poor roads, especially during the rainy season. The construction of the bridge is part of UNHCR support to improve access to Lofa County, where more than 50% of returnees reside.

During the week, UNHCR received a grant of US$ 200,000 from the African Union to boost its refugee and reintegration programmes in Liberia. The grant is part of a US$ 600,000 grant provided to Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia by the African Union's Peace and Reconciliation Commission Sub Committee on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons.

LWF striving to improve access to water in southeast Liberia

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is currently engaged in the construction of 28 wells in 19 communities in Barrobo and Buah Districts of Maryland and Grand Kru Counties, respectively, in southeast Liberia. To date, construction of the 28 wells has progressed significantly and the wells will soon be fitted with Afridev hand pumps. Measures to ensure sustainability of the facilities will include the provision of tools and spare parts and the establishment of community water and sanitation teams.

These activities are part of LWF's 19-months food security and infrastructure rehabilitation project for the southeast, which is funded by the Foreign Aid Department of the German Government (BMZ) through Diakonie.

Liberia refugee body seeks solutions for local integration of refugees

The Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) is seeking to implement a strategy for local integration of some 3,563 Sierra Leonean refugees living in camps outside Monrovia. The strategy includes attainment of legal rights and status and the provision of socio-economic assistance for the refugees. Recently, LRRRC and UNHCR held discussions with the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (BIN) and the local authorities of communities where the refugees have opted to integrate locally. These discussions will culminate in a sensitization conference, scheduled tentatively for early February 2008, to give stakeholders and local officials a broader perspective about the process.