OCHA Situation Report No. 47
Liberia
19 September 2003


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

GENERAL SITUATION

Combined humanitarian efforts continued today, addressing both immediate
emergency and long-term needs.  Particular importance has been placed on
ensuring IDPs and refugees are able to return to their homes as soon as
possible.  The rehabilitation of health services and educational
institutions is a vital component in encouraging their eventual return.
The gradual resumption of electricity-flow in Monrovia should improve
living conditions for many, and reinvigorate commercial activity and
employment opportunities in the capital.  Benefits will also eventually
filter into outlying rural and regional areas.

HUMANITARIAN ACTIVITIES BY SECTOR

1. Harper Mission

a) The situation in Harper is calm.  MODEL estimate the current population
of Harper is 3,000 people (concentrated on the western outskirts of the
city).  The city does not have power.  The use of wells (not necessarily
providing potable water) is meeting current requirements, supplemented by
five hand-operated water pumps citywide.  Harper Hospital has been totally
looted.  The majority of the staff have not returned.  There does not
appear to be any outbreak of disease.  Until larger numbers of civilians
return, assessment of shelter and rehabilitation needs cannot be
adequately undertaken.  Many homes are vacant, although badly damaged.

b) All visited health facilities have been extensively looted and majority
of health care personnel have fled.  A "MODEL clinic" is operating in
Harper by two MODEL personnel who claimed to be nurses.  The clinic is
located in a house in the centre of the town, and majority of medical
materials seem to originate from the hospital.  Drugs are bought from Cote
d'Ivoire.  Non-MODEL medical personnel present in Harper have to buy a
license from the MODEL authorities before they can practice.  There about
15 trained health workers from the J.J. Dossen Hospital that currently
reside in Harper.  With minimal structural repairs on the hospital
building and drug and medical supplies, they could begin basic outpatient
health services to the general public.  In Pleebo, the MERCI Support
Clinic is intact, but looted.  It will take at least two trained nurses, a
midwife and drugs and medical supplies to reopen the clinic to provide
health services, which are much needed.

c) There were no visual malnutrition cases in the communities around
Harper and Pleebo.  In Wlebo Refugee Camp, however, several visually
malnourished children were seen.  There are also many children that should
be immunized against measles in this camp and in the countyside.

2. Food Aid

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) implementing partner
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) distributed a total of 96 Mt of assorted
commodities (79.8 Mt of cereals, 9.5 Mt of pulses, 5.7 Mt of vegetable
oil, 1 Mt of Salt) to 6,325 IDPs in Buchanan yesterday.  According to
reports, the first general distribution to Buchanan was carried out
successfully with no security incidents reported.  The distribution
continues today, and is the first part of a general food distribution
targeting 32,000 people in the city of Buchanan.  WFP have also commenced
food distributions this week to tens of thousands of displaced Liberians,
and refugees from Sierra Leone, in camps outside Monrovia.

3. Health and Nutrition

a) The United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO) informed UNICEF of
the rationale behind the rehabilitation of six (6) strategic hospitals
next year located in Zwedru, Harper, Phebe hospital, Voinjama and
Tubmanburg.  A joint agreement with UNICEF means that their plans to
rehabilitate approximately 20 Public Health Centres (PHC), will follow the
same framework.  The objective is to ensure adequate health and
educational facilities exist in each county, thereby facilitating the
return of IDPs presently sheltered in and around Monrovia.

b) The Nutrition Sub-Committee met this afternoon.  UNICEF and WHO
presented a draft protocol on supplementary feeding for review.  Working
groups for specific technical areas were established.  WHO was appointed
Chair of the technical working group on assessment, surveys, monitoring
and evaluation.  A working group of advocacy, chaired by the Ministry of
Health, was also created.

c) Further to the findings of assessment missions conducted in Tubmanburg
by UNICEF and WHO, indicating a rise in severe malnutrition rate, WFP is
cooperating with MSF France on undertaking therapeutic feeding and
supplementary feeding programmes.

4. IDPs

A United Nations inter-agency meeting was held today, including
representatives of IDPs in Monrovia shelters and Camp Managers.
Discussions centred on food shelter and protection.  According to the
participants, most of the IDPs are ready to move to the camps but are
sceptical of camp security arrangements.  Water and sanitation standards,
it was deemed, would require improvement in some camps, if they are to
adequately serve the needs of additional IDPs.  There are health service
providers in all the camps except Jatondo and Wilson IDP camps.
International Medical Corps started a clinic in Wilson camp today [18
September].  Save the Children United Kingdom have expressed an interest
in operating at the Jatondo camp.

COMMON SERVICES

5.Common Access

The Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Liberia
conducted a mission to Sierra Leone and assessed road conditions for
travel through the border.  Mission members went to Zimi and described the
road condition as disastrous.  A 5 Km stretch between Zimi and Bo
Waterside was particularly bad.  UNHCR began work to repair the road
today, which may take 3-4 weeks.

6. Civil Military Coordination

The Civil Military Coordination Officer has sought additional emergency
contact details from ECOMIL given that their Emergency Operations Centre
is not manned on a 24-hour basis.  The emergency contact numbers for
ECOMIL are 530 172 and 530 373.

7. Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC)

A 15 sheet county map series was produced and is available on hard copy
from the HIC office, Monrovia, Liberia, and as a PDF file on the
www.humanitarianinfo.org/liberia Website.  Please visit the website for
the entire range of products available.


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