drc.dk: Côte d’Ivoire: Thousands of new refugees in need of assistance

Côte d’Ivoire: Thousands of new refugees in need of assistance

16.03.11

Category: Africa, Press releases, Relief work, West Africa

Thousands of refugees are fleeing Côte d’Ivoire. Across the border, Liberian communities are struggling to host those who have fled violence and unrest. The Danish Refugee Council is among the aid agencies now stepping up support for Ivorian refugees and host communities in Liberia.

With the unrest escalating in Côte d’Ivoire, hundreds continue to cross the border to safety in Liberia every day. More than 82,000 Ivorian refugees are now in neighbouring Liberia, including 45,000 over the last three weeks.

The continued exodus is following the political gridlock and unrest sparked by the November 2010 elections that remain unsettled. The incumbent President Gbagbo refuses to hand over power to his rival Ouattara who has been recognised internationally as the winner of the 2010 election.

Inside Côte d’Ivoire, the UN estimates that more than 350,000 people are internally displaced, and the vast majority around the capital Abidjan. And the numbers are growing steadily, with regard to both displaced in Côte d’Ivoire and those seeking refuge in neighbouring Guinea and Liberia. New temporary refugee settlements have been established by the UNHCR in Liberia, where the large influx of refugees has put Liberian host communities under extreme pressure for several months.

“With so many more people living in the host communities along the border, the most basic supplies are running dry. There is an urgent need now for water, food, and shelter in the communities hosting the refugees. What we are witnessing is a humanitarian crisis unfolding day by day, and it is crucial to respond to the needs for aid,” says Ann Mary Olsen, head of the international department in the Danish Refugee Council.

The Danish Refugee Council is currently represented in Côte d’Ivoire, however, with a limited ability to carry out relief activities due to insecurity, as well as in Guinea and Liberia where the organisation has been present since 1998. Since 2006, the Danish Refugee Council has worked in support of people in Nimba County bordering Côte d’Ivoire. Through a growing number of activities, the Danish Refugee Council has built up an extensive network and outreach during more than a decade in the West African country.

The Danish Refugee Council is now stepping up assistance in Liberia where host communities suffer the most eminent pressure on local resources. An emergency team including an emergency manager, logistician, and protection expert, is now seconded to Liberia, where they will help facilitate an intensified emergency response. Part of the response is the provision of potable water, the construction and improvement of water and sanitation facilities, community-based temporary shelter, and road rehabilitation, being priorities now in the host communities.

Along with ensuring access to basic services, the Danish Refugee Council will work towards strengthening social cohesion and improve protection measures. The Danish Refugee Council has been involved in the establishment of peace and mediation committees in communities in Nimba County for a number of years. These committees have played an active role in border registration and monitoring during the recent months’ influx of refugees from Côte d’Ivoire.

So far, activities are planned for 10 border communities and five additional host communities in Liberia. The response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Liberia is financed through funds from Danida, SIDA, UNHCR, and from the Danish Refugee Council’s own Emergency Fund.

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