U.N. peacekeepers are making progress in restoring stability to Liberia, but the West African nation faces many difficulties as it recovers from 14 years of civil war, the country’s top U.N. relief official said Tuesday. Abou Moussa, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Liberia, said some of the 4,500 peacekeepers are beginning to expand their operations beyond the capital of Monrovia where they have restored calm. They are assessing the security situation in the countryside so that U.N. officials can determine the immediate needs of the people.
He said 300,000 people that fled to Monrovia were living in appalling conditions without electricity and running water. “Though accurate figures are impossible to obtain at the moment, it is estimated that 55 percent of the population is malnourished,” Moussa said.
Moussa and the U.N. humanitarian coordinators for Eritrea and Ethiopia were in Washington to promote the United Nations Humanitarian Appeal for 2004, which seeks $3 billion for 21 countries, 17 of them in Africa. Samuel Nyambi, the coordinator for Ethiopia, said a coalition for food security would be established to end the chronic food shortages the East African nation regularly experiences. Simon R. Nhongo, coordinator for Eritrea, said persistent drought has cut into the country’s food production. Eritrea will produce 20 percent of its food needs and 1.4 million people will rely on humanitarian aid through 2004.
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