LIBERIA: HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

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1 LIBERIA: HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE 20 February 2001 appeal no /2000 situation report no. 2 period covered: 1 July - 31 December 2000 The difficult security situation, the rainy season, which disrupted road access, and the frequent changes in the National Society s governance, were serious obstacles to the successful implementation of programmes. Nevertheless, the building of rural schools began, health and water and sanitation activities continued in local clinics, and an AIDS/STD information project for youth was maintained. On the relief front, assistance to IDPs continued, with several hundred returnees being given material support and transport. Institutional and resource development remained the key to improved performance and some objectives were partly achieved, including the reinforcement of headquarters staffing, training, and the introduction of management procedures and systems. The context Political, economic and social instability continued to impact Liberia and its neighbours -- Guinea, Sierra Leone and Côte d Ivoire, which have all suffered civil conflicts. Life in these countries is particularly difficult for the most vulnerable, especially children, women, the sick and elderly. Liberia is struggling with widespread poverty, excessively high unemployment rates and constantly rising prices. Living conditions continue to deteriorate throughout the country, most of which lacks electricity and safe drinking water. According to recent reports, 1.6 million people have migrated to the capital, Monrovia, a city built to accommodate 800,000 persons. The health and social welfare system continues to be severely affected by the war, and this, together with the need to protect the most vulnerable from the effects of displacement, provides a strong justification for well-targeted humanitarian programmes within the country. As a result of the deteriorating health and social situation throughout the country, the role of the Liberian Red Cross has increased. The Federation continues to concentrate its efforts on strengthening the capacity of the Society s headquarters and its 13 chapters, in order to provide a self-sustaining

2 infrastructure for relief and rehabilitation. Programmes in 2000 have focused on the need to provide relief assistance to the most vulnerable returning to their villages of origin; the rehabilitation and revitalization of LNRCS Chapter facilities; the implementation of a chapter resource development plan linked to income generation; and the rehabilitation of health centres, including the construction of water and sanitation facilities. Latest events In July 2000, armed insurgency and sporadic gun battles occurred at the border towns of Voinjama in Lofa County, causing loss of life, the destruction of property, the looting of homes and the displacement of over 45,000 persons to Salayea District, close to Bong County, in Upper Lofa and Camp Anthel in Lower Lofa Counties. Recently, the government announced the expulsion of the armed insurgents. In October 2000, ethnic violence erupted between the Mandingos and Mano people in Nimba County. Several people were injured, and houses and vehicles were destroyed. A polio campaign was carried out jointly between the LNRCS, the Federation and the Ministry of Health (MOH) in two districts of Grand Kru, where 15,150 children under the age of 5 years were vaccinated. The medical team consisted of 2 medical doctors and para-medical staff, including 40 Red Cross volunteers. The third phase of the polio campaign will take place during the dry season, and will focus at the same time on quality assurance. Red Cross/Red Crescent action Institutional and Resource Development Capacity building is the key challenge for the National Society, particularly in the areas of fund raising, income generation and training of governance and staff at both the HQ and chapters, in order to be able to deliver humanitarian and community services in vulnerable communities. Objectives Help to improve the organizational structure of the LNRCS at both the headquarters and chapter level. Continue the rehabilitation and reactivation of 8 LNRCS chapters (out of a total of 13) and assist with the ongoing decentralization of LNRCS and the strengthening of Chapter management. Results Objective partly achieved through technical assistance provided to the NS. New Secretary General and Finance Officer were employed. Various administrative and financial reporting procedures were introduced at both headquarters and chapter level. A new Women and Development/Youth Coordinator was appointed. During the second half of the year, the Executive Body was replaced by an Interim Governance. This body will have to be confirmed by the General Assembly when it meets in the 1st quarter of 2001 Objective partly achieved through a focus on these issues during the last 2 years, with the finalization of Bomi, Bong, Grand Gedeh and Maryland Chapters and the rehabilitation of Sinoe chapter. Efforts to rehabilitate the Grand Kru chapter are ongoing. Develop a resource development Objective only partly achieved, due to the 2

3 plan linked to fundraising and help create income generation activities. Help the LNRCS undertake sustained human resource development for staff and volunteers and put in place a staff administration manual, and financial accounting and reporting guidelines. country s severe economic difficulties and the lack of a policy on Red Cross membership. The Delegation is working with the NS headquarters to establish a sustainable fundraising structure and mechanism by promoting networking with the Government and various agencies and through a 25% subvention from the chapters income activities, to cover support and coordination costs. The chapters are being encouraged to cover their running costs through income generating activities such as guest houses, skills training, tailoring shops, soap projects fishing boats and equipment, power saws, cassava processors and a school uniform project. Objective partly achieved through internal training and workshops, including a 3 day SWOT analysis on WAYS project, a one week capacity building session for NGOs, a LNRCS Youth policy formulation and leadership conference, computer application software training, systems organization training, and CAS and Appeal process training. External training was also made available on Volunteering (Chapter Field Officer), International Management Development (Secretary General and Asst. Secretary General), and BTC (for 3 LNRCS potential delegates). A LCPP workshop and WAYS project were also important training vehicles. Disaster Preparedness and Response In August 2000, the Red Cross helped some 604 IDPs, from 348 families, to return to their homesteads in the Southeast (counties of Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Sinoe, Maryland). This brought to 2,321 the total number of IDPs transported back to the region since the operation started in Family kits were distributed to the returnees, as well as 23 community kits of shelter materials and tools. The community kits, which are intended to boost communities efforts to rehabilitate basic social services, were distributed after a joint chapter and relief department assessment targeting the most vulnerable. On 13 September, the LNRCS, supported by the Federation, began the pilot phase of a project to assist five communities to construct primary and elementary schools in five counties, including Grand Bassa, Rivercess, rural Montserrado and Bomi. A start was made on constructing two schools in Blahn and Gohnjeh, in rural Montserrado and Bomi Counties respectively. The foundations of the buildings were completed by the community and pillars installed. Work stopped in October because of the rainy season and bad roads. Under the WFP and LNRCS Food Aid Project, some 315 metric tons of food aid have been distributed since September to 24,075 school beneficiaries in the counties of Bomi and Lower Lofa. The supplies, (an average of 105 metric tons per month) were distributed by the local Red Cross branches in the two counties. 3

4 In December 2000, a total of 1,600 items of used clothes and shoes donated by the Swedish Red Cross were distributed to 18 orphanages in Montserrado chapter, reaching 1,600 children. The LNRCS Relief Department attended a number of workshops during the period under review. They included a WFP Food and Warehouse Management Workshop, a WFP Assessment and Monitoring Workshop, both in Monrovia; a Federation DPP Workshop in Ghana, a First Aid Workshop in Ouagadougou and a BTC Workshop in Kenya. Health/Water and Sanitation/CBFA The security situation in Liberia, as well as the rainy season from July to the middle of November, which disrupts travel by road, further complicated the implementation of projects, especially those in the Southeast of the country. Nevertheless, during the last six months of the year, the LNRCS/ Federation Health and WATSAN services continued to provide Health and WatSan services in several chapter clinics. The headquarters clinic management team continued to provide support in the areas of management and evaluation of services, training and workshops for MCH activities, EPI, reproductive and sexual health and IEC, and the provision of curative and preventive services. HQ Clinic Activities From July to December 2000, the HQ clinic in Monrovia provided a total of 5,033 consultations. More than 35% of the consultations were for malaria (children and adults), diarrhoea 10%, RTI 20%, UTI 5%, STD/PID 9%, skin infections 2%, worms 3%, injuries 2%, measles 5%, anemia 6%, hypertension 2%, and other pathologies. The clinic runs a medical laboratory (4,035 patients examined during the period). The revenue generated was USD 7,757. The MCH programme catered to 303 persons. Clinic Activities in rural areas During the period under review, the Jarwodee Clinic in Grand Gedeh county treated 2,880 persons for malaria (33%), RTI (10%), diarrhoea (12%), anemia (10%), scabies (8%), and worms (2%). The Barclayville clinic in Grand Kru treated 2,160 persons for malaria (4%), RTI (20%), diarrhoea (16%), anemia (8%), malnutrition (2%), worms (5%), and measles (2%). The Manolu clinic in Maryland treated 4,080 persons for malaria (40%), RTI (20%), diarrhoea (12%), anemia (10%), malnutrition (9%), UTI (4%), scabies (3%), worms (3%). Integrated Health and Water and Sanitation project The Integrated Health and Water and Sanitation project in the Southeast has made efforts to improve the health status of 31,715 people in 22 targeted communities in Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru and Maryland Counties, through the provision of clean and safe water, and the construction of institutional and family latrines and health facilities in each county. The project started in March 1999 and, after a review in January 2000, the number of facilities was reduced and a programme extension, from 15 December 1999 to 30 June, 2000, was approved by the donors. A total of 29 wells, 27 institutional latrines and 295 family latrines were constructed during the implementation period. The clinics in Jarwodee, Manolu and Barclayville are fully operational, but the number of patients is low. The clinics operate a cost recovery system and were charging patients between 10 and 15 Liberian dollars, an amount that covers both the cost of consultation and medicines. However, since most patients are unable to pay this amount, the fees were reduced to 2.5 to 5 Liberian dollars. Community Based First Aid (CBFA) A lack of focus and management and monitoring problems have prevented the implementation of the CBFA programme, even though the National Society has expressed the desire to continue the programme. There is a need to provide training for the CBFA officer, to integrate the programme into all Watsan activities of the Society and to strengthen the CBFA activities of the Mother Health clubs in the chapters. A strategy for the future has to be redesigned, with greater community participation. 4

5 HIV/AIDS and STD Youth Peer Education on HIV/AIDS and STD prevention is continuing to promote awareness and education among school youth in 10 schools in and around Monrovia (approximately 2,500 pupils). Programme Management The Federation Delegation in Liberia has provided management support in the form of: Improving communication with the National Society and improving the working relationships between the Governance and Management and the Federation. Providing training support to the National Society (both for the HQ and Chapters) and increasing its awareness and understanding of Strategy Maintaining and developing ongoing relations with ICRC, UNHCR, UNICEF, WHO, Rotary International Club, EU, the UN and NGOs. Outstanding needs A total of 3,194,000 CHF was requested in the Appeal; so far a total of CHF 2,878,011 has been received, giving a 90.1% coverage. External relations - Government/UN/NGOs/Media Regular meetings are held with the MOH and co-ordination meetings organised at the Headquarters and field level in order to ensure the smooth running of operations and avoid duplication of effort, while promoting the sharing of available resources. Effective working relations with relevant Government and international agencies, such as WHO, UNICEF and the European Union are maintained. These contacts have played a vital role in ensuring successful co-operation and resource sharing between agencies. Contributions See Annex 1 for details. Conclusion The period July to December includes the rainy season, which makes access difficult to various parts of the country, especially the Southeast region. Other implementation problems were due to the difficult security situation in the country and changes in the National Society s governing board. A General Assembly is scheduled for March 2001, when major issues concerning the governing board are expected to be resolved, also hopefully bringing management stability. The successful implementation of programmes is contingent on the involvement of beneficiaries in all aspects of the programme cycle. Equally, more attention must be given to the following: a clearly defined role of stakeholders, specific negotiations with donors, the running cost of projects, volunteer management, the availability of logistics, the training of volunteers and staff in chapters and branches, and the identification of the most vulnerable through the use of effective tools such as a VCA. 5

6 Peter Rees-Gildea Head a.i. Relationship Management Department Bekele Geleta Head Africa Department This and other reports on Federation operations are available on the Federation s website: 6

7 Liberia ANNEX 1 APPEAL No /2000 PLEDGES RECEIVED 02/20/01 DONOR CATEGORY QUANTITY UNIT VALUE CHF DATE COMMENT CASH TOTAL COVERAGE REQUESTED IN APPEAL CHF > 3,193, % Balance carried forward from ,136,331 FINLAND - GOVT/RC 336,375 EUR 528,950 05/05/00 FINLAND - GOVT/RC 86,280 EUR 134, ID NORWAY - GOVT/RC 45,523 NOK 8,986 12/01/00 NETHERLANDS - RC 61, NETHERLANDS - RC 55, NETHERLANDS - GOVT/RC 351,600 NLG 248, PERSONNAL COST: S. DEMEKE DELE PERSONAL COSTS HEALTH DEL. COOKING UTENSILS UNITED KINGDOM - RC 51,500 GBP 134,415 05/10/00 REFURBISHEMENT OF CHAPTER AND CASSAVA PROCESSION MACHINGE IN BOMI CHAPTER SWEDISH - GOVT/RC 145,000 SEK 27, RELIEF & DP SWEDISH - GOVT/RC 300,000 SEK 56, SWEDISH - RC 285,333 SEK 51, SWEDISH - GOVT/RC 1,215,000 SEK 213, INTEGRATED HEALTH & WATSAN PROG. SWEDISH - GOVT 5,000 SEK SUPPORTING COSTS SUB/TOTAL RECEIVED IN CASH 2,659,078 CHF 83.3% KIND AND SERVICES (INCLUDING PERSONNEL) DONOR CATEGORY QUANTITY UNIT VALUE CHF DATE COMMENT Finland Delegate(s) 60,123 Great Britain Delegate(s) 29,897 Netherlands Delegate(s) 11,334 M Sweden Delegate(s) 24,969 Sweden Delegate(s) 15,000 01/08/01 Sweden Gvt 100,000 SEK 17, '000 KG. USED CLOTHES USA Delegate(s) 60,000 changed 8/1/2001 SUB/TOTAL RECEIVED IN KIND/SERVICES 218,933 CHF 6.9% ADDITIONAL TO APPEAL BUDGET DONOR CATEGORY QUANTITY UNIT VALUE CHF DATE COMMENT SUB/TOTAL RECEIVED 0 CHF THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS ARE LINKED TO THIS APPEAL: PLR002, PLR003, PLR501, PLR510, PLR520, PLR521,PLR522. 7