Liberia: Refugee crisis needs world’s attention says Oxfam as UN High Commissioner for Refugees visits country

International agency Oxfam today welcomed the visit of UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, to Liberia, as it called on the international community to pay greater attention to the worsening refugee crisis in the country.

The UN estimates that 46,000 refugees have fled into Liberia in just the last month, as a result of continuing political violence in the Ivory Coast, adding to tens of thousands already there. Some 1.3 million people live along the Ivory Coast side of the border with Liberia – and continued fighting could force a large proportion of them flee.

Oxfam called on the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to push donors to fund the aid response to the crisis. The UN appeal is just a quarter funded, and a serious shortfall could leave agencies unable to cope with future refugee flows.

Chals Wontewe, Oxfam’s Country director in Liberia, said: “This visit must put a spotlight on a crisis that is unfolding under the international community’s radar. Fighting is spreading across cities in the Ivory Coast, and the risk of large-scale refugee flows is high. But despite the gravity of the situation, it is not getting the attention or funding it deserves.” 

The agency also called the High Commissioner to take action to ensure that refugees wanting to move into camps in Liberia’s interior are able to get there. 

Wontewe continued: “The border areas are dangerous, and living conditions there are desperately poor. There is an urgent need for transportation to help refugees move to camps further inside Liberia, where food and shelter can be safely provided. This needs to happen before both the rainy season and further refugee flows make the challenge even harder”.

The majority of refugees are staying with host families near the border, but conditions for refugees are dangerously inadequate, with most lacking adequate shelter, clean water and basic sanitation. Of the tens of thousands of refugees in Liberia, just 1700 people have moved to the first camp at Bahn. Poor roads and a lack of transport are key barriers to getting them there.

Oxfam airlifted relief supplies for up to 70,000 people into Liberia last week. The supplies are being sent to Nimba, Grand Guedeh, and Maryland counties where Oxfam is starting water and sanitation work in response to this emergency. It also plans to help families hosting refugees to restock their diminished food supplies.