Washington, DC

June 15, 2011

The United States is announcing an additional pledge of $7.5 million in humanitarian assistance for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia. With this latest funding, the U.S. is providing over $51 million in humanitarian assistance to refugees, IDPs, and other conflict-affected populations in the region. The Côte d’Ivoire political crisis turned violent after the run-off presidential election between victor Ouattara and incumbent Gbagbo in late November 2010 and uprooted hundreds of thousands of Ivoirians. More than 210,000 refugees fled from Côte d’Ivoire – most to Liberia; up to a million were displaced inside Côte d’Ivoire; and thousands of nationals of neighboring countries fled as well. The situation in Côte d’Ivoire is improving; but some continuing unrest is still generating new refugees, and fear among those who fled keeps a majority of refugees from returning home at present. Up to an estimated 500,000 remain internally displaced.

This latest U.S. contribution includes $6.5 million in support for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and $1 million for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). This assistance will help provide basic life support such as food, health care, and essential household items; the construction and maintenance of camps where needed; increasing access to clean water; and will support efforts to restore family links severed as a result of displacement.

The United States, through the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, has provided more than $28 million for humanitarian response in Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, and other neighboring countries since March 2011. The U.S. Agency for International Development has also provided almost $23 million in funding and food aid to non-governmental organizations and UN agencies in Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia.

For details on these contributions, please see the chart that follows.

For further information, contact Beth Schlachter at schlachteren@state.gov.

 U.S. Government Funding for Humanitarian Assistance for People Affected by the Crisis in Côte d’Ivoire from January 2011 to June, 2011

Organization

Activity

Amount

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Protection and assistance for refugees in Liberia and other neighboring countries, and for IDPs in Côte d’Ivoire.

$23,300,000

World Food Program (WFP)

Provision of food for Ivoirian refugees in Liberia and IDPs in Côte d’Ivoire.

$16,400,000

World Food Program (WFP)

Logistics for emergency food operations in Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire.

$1,350,000

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Medical and surgical care, water and sanitation facilities, livelihood training, family reunification, etc. in countries surrounding Côte d’Ivoire.

$3,000,000

UNICEF

Health, water, sanitation, and nutrition for Côte d’Ivoire and Liberian communities hosting refugees.

$1,800,000

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Coordination of humanitarian agencies in Côte d’Ivoire.

$500,000

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)/Liberia

Support for NGOs who are providing various kinds of relief and assistance to Ivoirian refugees.

$1,000,000

NGOs/Liberia

Support for NGOs assisting Liberia communities hosting Ivoirian refugees.

$2,430,425

NGOs/Côte d’Ivoire

Support for NGOs providing assistance to IDPs.

$1,025,077

International Organization for Migration (IOM)

IDP camp coordination and emergency transport for internally displaced persons and third country nationals fleeing Côte d’Ivoire.

$700,000

 

TOTAL

 $51,505,502