The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has provided Liberian communities hosting Ivorian refugees with medical items.
The reproductive health and dignity kits, Development Diaries gathered, were supplied to Nimba, Grand Gedeh, River Gee, and Maryland counties.
Liberia, according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), has one of the world’s highest rates of maternal mortality, with the country losing 11,000 children under five each year.
UNFPA said the supplies included individual delivery kits, assisted delivery kits, rape treatment kits, STI treatment kits, emergency contraceptives, and blood transfusion kits.
‘Even under normal conditions, reproductive health issues are among the leading causes of death and illness among women of childbearing age’, UNFPA Representative, Dr Bannet Ndyanabangi, said.
‘When a crisis strikes, skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care often become unavailable, exacerbating the vulnerability of pregnant women.
‘We want to ensure that the refugees and host communities have access to quality sexual reproductive health and rights services and adequate support for survivors of gender-based violence’.
In related development, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the European Union, and the government of Liberia have provided low cost housing units for Ivorian refugees in the country.
Out of the 93 housing units, 83 units were implemented by UNHCR in collaboration with the Liberian government through the African Initiative for Reconstruction and Development (AIRD).
Ten other units were constructed with support from the EU Spotlight Initiative through UNFPA and Plan International Liberia.
The remaining 15 are expected to be built as part of the support from the EU Spotlight Initiative and will be implemented by UNFPA and Plan International.
The land was donated by residents of the counties following the intervention of the government through the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and resettlement Commission (LRRRC).
Source: The New Dawn
Photo source: UNICEF/Liberia
