UN FOCUS February 2015

Issue 01, Volume 12 | February 2015
UN FOCUS
united nations liberia | at work together
Ban Ki-moon Pays

Solidarity Visit to Liberia
Blue Helmets
Respond to Ebola
Liberia Moves Ahead
with Decentralization
CONTENTS
Ban Ki-moon Pays
Blue Helmets
Respond to Ebola
Ebola Must Go
Quick Impact Projects

Tackle Ebola
10
UNMIL Repositions
Itself to Battle Ebola
12
Helen Clark Lauds

Community Volunteers
14
Women and Girls

Bear the Brunt of Ebola
Message from the Special

Representative of the Secretary-General
4
6
16
Liberia Moves Ahead

22
Reaching Bush Schools

to Prevent Ebola
18
Refugee ID Cards
Help Ensure Access
24
Cross Border Technical

Meeting on Ebola
20
Ivorian Refugees Take

Steps Toward
Self-Reliance
26
8
14
UN FOCUS
CHIEF OF PUBLIC INFORMATION
Russell Geekie
STAFF WRITERS
James S. King
PHOTOS
Emmanuel Tobey
EDITOR AND HEAD OF

PUBLICATIONS & SOCIAL MEDIA
Mathew Elavanalthoduka
DESIGN & GRAPHICS
Thomas S. Blidi
Thomas G. Karyah
UN FOCUS is published quarterly by the Public Information Office, United Nations Mission in Liberia
UN FOCUS | FEBRUARY 2015
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he Ebola crisis, which has posed the

greatest challenge to Liberia since the
end of the civil war, has had a profound
impact across the country and the region.
Thousands of people lost their lives or
loved ones, and many children were left
orphaned. Until February, schools remained closed, as did
the borders, with a negative impact on cross-border trade
and economic lifelines. Since the peak of the outbreak
in Liberia in September 2014, the country has turned the
corner and appears to be winning the fight in large part
due to the resourcefulness and resilience of Liberians in
taking preventive measures. Conquering Ebola should be
a great source of national pride to all Liberians. For all
its horrors, the Ebola crisis also shed light on ways that
Liberians can come together to build a better Liberia.
Liberians can also draw inspiration from the successful senatorial elections and the consultative process
that preceded the polls despite the challenges posed by
the Ebola epidemic. Election-related complaints were
brought, as they should be, to the National Elections
Commission and the Supreme Court, where they could
be resolved peacefully. The launch in February of the
National Deconcentration Platform, a key component
of the National Decentralization Policy, is a major step
forward. This policy is expected to improve access to services. Decentralization also has the potential to increase
reconciliation, inclusion and cohesion in Liberian society,
where many still feel excluded.
The post-Ebola period coincides with the resumption
of UNMILs transition. United Nations Security Council
resolution 2190, adopted on 15 December 2014, contains
many messages for the Government of Liberia. Chief
among them is the resumption of UNMILs drawdown
after the Ebola crisis subsides, with a handover of full
security responsibilities to the Government by the end of
June 2016. As the Security Council notes, the Government of Liberia bears primary and ultimate responsibility
for security and the protection of its population. Therefore, security must be a high priority for the Government.
At the heart of the transition is strengthening the Libe-
ria National Police

(LNP) and the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (BIN). These vital organizations need to intensify
their efforts now to be ready for the transition next year.
UNMIL continues to support institutional strengthening
of the LNP and the BIN in areas such as leadership and
management capacity, recruitment and basic training,
professional standards and oversight, and financial accountability, as well as training in critical areas such as
forensics, investigative capacity, border security and
customs procedures, and community-oriented policing.
The justice system also needs to be strengthened in
tandem with efforts to improve the capacity of national
security agencies. Liberia needs a justice system that
people can trust and which is accessible to all. Too many
Liberians have suffered from excessive pre-trial detention. Juvenile justice is underdeveloped. Reports of sexual
and gender-based violence continue to rise in the aftermath of Ebola. Too few justice and corrections personnel
are deployed outside Montserrado County. The Mission
will continue to advocate for the Government to prioritize
these issues.
UNMILs transition is broader than the handover of
security responsibilities, and the completion of the security transition will not result in the immediate closure of
UNMIL. Ultimately, the United Nations Security Council
will decide how to reconfigure the Mission and when to
close it. As Liberia enters the post-Ebola recovery phase,
I encourage Liberians to approach UNMILs transition
with the same determination, consultation and pride with
which they have turned the tide on the Ebola crisis.
Karin Landgren
Special Representative of the

Secretary-General and Coordinator of United Nations
Operations in Liberia
FEBRUARY 2015 | UN FOCUS
Ban Ki-moon Pays

By Romeo Juwle Togba
In the midst of Liberias battle against Ebola, UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon paid a one-day solidarity visit on 19
December to the country to
ecretary-General
assess the progress being made in
Ban Ki-moon
has brought his
arresting the spread of the epidemic.
global leadership
mastery to the fold

in mobilizing the international community to respond to the Ebola crisis
United Nations system is fully committed to

supporting all affected and at-risk communities to contain the Ebola outbreak and end
this crisis.
We need more robust contact-tracing,
we need a greater preparedness at the
district levels. And the promising results
that Liberia has experienced must be shared
regionally to avoid the risk of retransmission, he noted.
Ban said as efforts are underway to stop
Ebola transmissions, it is not too soon to
start working on post-Ebola recovery. We
must scale -up our efforts to re-establish
basic social services, strengthen health ser-
vices, support economic activities and build

the countrys resilience.
We are ready to help Liberian government and people to build your society
more resilient and stronger, he said as he
appealed to all national stakeholders to work
together to preserve Liberias hard-won
peace.
During his whistle-stop tour, Ban also
visited an Ebola Treatment Unit and addressed the UN personnel in Liberia.
UN SG Ban Ki-moon abides by Ebola prevention

protocol upon his arrival in Liberia
UNMIL Photo/Emmanuel Tobey

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with UNMIL SRSG Karin Landgren
observed President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

during a combined press stakeout with Ban
in Monrovia.
The Liberian Leader pointed out that the
UN has been a strategic partner in rolling
out programmes and activities to kick Ebola
out of Liberia.
The UNs interventions have stimulated
a forceful response to the Ebola crisis. This
has helped putting in place practices of safe
and dignified burials, community involvement and a whole range of positive steps
to contain the virus, the Liberian leader
pointed out.
These moves have brought progressive
marks of change from where we were a few
months back. We were slow in the beginning
but with the UN and other partners, we now
have a quick response that we needed to address the crisis, said the President.
Secretary-General Ban said his visit was
to demonstrate solidarity with the peoples
of Liberia and the West Africa region in the
fight against the Ebola virus disease.
The United Nations has stood with Liberia through challenging times before. We
are committed to standing with you now as
you face the threat of Ebola. We will be with
you until this crisis is under control and the
country has recovered, said Ban.
The Secretary-General praised Liberias
progress in the fight against the Ebola virus
disease.
The spread of the virus is slowing in
Liberia. Above all this is a tribute to the
dedication and commitment of Liberians.
The response strategy is working.
Ban said the strategies for containing the
virus have visible results across the country.
More people are gaining access to treatment, more contacts are being traced, more
areas are becoming safer and communities
are mobilizing to protect themselves.
Ban cautioned that while these gains are
commendable, there should be no room for
complacency.
Now is not the time to ease our efforts.
We have witnessed one case can trigger an
epidemic.
He stressed that that getting to zero new
Ebola cases in Liberia and the rest of the
region must be everyones s goal. The
Since the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in

Liberia, UNMILs blue helmets have modified their
peacekeeping kit, adding new tools to enable them
to effectively support efforts to contain the deadly
disease.
By Daniel Mensah Brande
Blue Helmets
Respond to Ebola
UNMILs air assets help transport Ebola-related supplies
A UN peacekeeper follows Ebola

prevention measures
UNMIL Photo
s Ebola broke out in Liberia,

UNMILs blue helmets, in
addition to patrolling security hotspots, UNMILs blue
helmets have been providing security for the movement of supplies to
various Ebola logistics bases in the country.
The men and women in uniform were
also involved in the construction of Ebola
Treatment Units (ETUs) in various parts of
Liberia. Chinese troops cleared and prepared
the terrain for the construction of two ETUs
sponsored by the German charity GAA in
Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, and Fish-
town in River Gee County.

Working 14 hours a day, the Chinese
peacekeepers fast-tracked the construction
of the Chinese government-funded 100-bed
Ebola ETU complex in Monrovia. The complex, known as the China-Aid Liberia Ebola
Treatment Unit, has water, power, communication facilities, as well as sewage and
garbage treatment. Pakistani peacekeepers
also prepared the site for the construction of
the WFP-funded ETU at the SKD stadium in
Monrovia, and Ebola Screening Unit at the
Star Base in Monrovia.
Additionally, UNMIL military observers
are playing a major role in creating public
awareness on the disease, navigating seemingly impregnable terrain to get to people
in remote towns and villages with Ebola
prevention messages. Being the eyes and
ears of the Mission, crisscrossing the length
and breadth of the country, the military observers regularly provide the government of
Liberia with vital information on the EVD.

Furthermore, UNMIL military has been
assisting the Liberian government in logistic
management and logistic support.
The inaccessible road network in Liberia
appears to be one of the challenges undermining efforts to stem the tide on the EVD
as health workers find it extremely difficult to access some of the Ebola hotspots.
Moreover, many of the ETUs have been
constructed in very isolated areas. The
engineering battalions of UNMIL force
confronted this problem head-on by creating access roads to the ETUs and repairing
some of the main supply routes. While
Bangladeshi military engineers worked on
the Ganta-Saclepea-Tappitta-Toe Town road,
their Chinese counterparts took care of the
Toe Town-Zwedru-Fishtown road, with the
Pakistani Road and Airfield Maintenance
personnel taking care of road works in the
capital, Monrovia.
For the blue helmets, Ebola has been a

new battleground, and they have proved
their mettle in taking on the enemy head-on.
Working 14 hours
a day, the Chinese
peacekeepers
fast-tracked the
construction of the
Chinese governmentfunded 100-bed Ebola
ETU complex in
Monrovia.
The achievement of zero cases of Ebola

can only be possible through intensification
of the current efforts in all of Liberias communities with full participation of Liberians
irrespective of their persuasions, said the
President. She said the retreat by Ebola into
hard to reach communities in late November 2014 came as a result of intensified
mobilizations of Liberians in their various
communities to stop the spread of Ebola.
The campaign received a boost when
New Georgia
community residents
did not only provide
food and relief or use
by the survivors of
EVD, they inherited
six orphaned
children...
Ebola Must Go
he church had hosted several victims and survivors of Ebola virus disease
(EVD) during the peak of the outbreak in Liberia, a gesture that participants,
including UNMEER boss Anthony Banbury, termed as extraordinary service
to humanity.
Launching the new campaign, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf reminded
Liberians that Ebola virus disease has not been completely eradicated from
Liberia despite tremendous strides made by the Government and its partners resulting in remarkable decline in the rate of EVD cases.
low residents, prompting the communitys

interventions to trace suspected and probable cases of EVD amidst heightened fears
of contracting the disease that had not only
killed ordinary people but health workers including renowned Liberian medical doctors.
With 12 deaths recorded, community
members tracked down and sent eight Ebola
patients to the holding centres, seven of
whom were accompanied by community
members in a local transport vehicle with
adherence to special precautionary medical
measures that forbid close contact with EVD
patients. In another brave move, 17 residents
were quarantined in their community.
Truly their brothers keeper, New
Georgia community residents and members
of Christ Kingdom Harvest Church did not
only provide food and relief supplies from
their meagre resources for use by the survivors of EVD, they inherited six orphaned
children whose parents succumbed to Ebola
virus disease.
Scene from the official launch of the Ebola

Must Go campaign at the Christ Kingdom
Harvest Church
By James S. King
Choosing Christ Kingdom Harvest

Church situated in New Georgia, in
Gardnersville in Monrovia, as the venue
for the launch of the Ebola Must Go
campaign was deliberate.
UNMEER made cash donations to the

community of New Georgia. Drawing
inspirations from the churchs humanitarian efforts, Banbury urged Liberians to
emulate roles played by members of Christ
Kingdom Harvest Church and New Georgia
community as community and government
joint activities are important tools to combat
Ebola virus disease.
In recognition of their critical support
to the fight against Ebola, Banbury commended the United Nations, Government of
Liberia, United States of America, China,
other aid contributing countries, and local
and international aid organizations. With
Liberia firmly on its way to eradicating
Ebola Banbury hoped the gains made by
Liberians will remain on course as the country steadily resumes its pre-Ebola economic
revitalization programmes.
Walker Dennis, Chairman of New Georgia Community, recounted how members
of the community organized a parallel
task force following the establishment of
the national task force during the peak of
Ebola outbreak in Liberia. Walker said
residents were terrified and confused by the
devastating impact of the disease on fel-
Quick Impact Projects

Tackle Ebola
Since its inception more than a decade ago, UNMILs
Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) have had their focus on
implementing small-scale, rapidly executable projects such
as the construction or rehabilitation of police stations,
courthouses, immigration posts and school buildings.
ut as Ebola suddenly
struck Liberia, QIPs
suddenly changed
track to help tackle
the outbreak and
made available
nearly US$500,000 for Ebola containment
interventions throughout the 15 counties of
Liberia.
The QIPs are funding a wide range of
Ebola containment projects identified by
UNMIL field offices in the counties in
consultation with the local government administrations and county Ebola task forces.
UNMIL military personnel undergo

Ebola awareness and prevention
training
10
QIPs had to be realigned from infrastructural development to different kinds of support to confront the challenges posed by Ebola
Though the QIPs-funded Ebola interventions vary from county to county, they
provide the multiple effects needed to jumpstart effective local community participation
in the fight against the deadly disease.
QIPs funded the training of hundreds
of traditional and religious leaders, local
political leaders, health workers, community
health volunteers and others in various
aspects of EVD management, and deployed
them across the country to perform different tasks associated with the eradication of
the disease. Some were engaged in creating public awareness on the disease; some
involved in contact-tracing; some took up
temperature taking; while others concentrated on safe burial, and psycho-social
counselling and support. More than 1,200
people benefited from the training in Bomi
and Grand Gedeh counties alone.
Aware of the logistic challenges
prevalent in a post-conflict environment,
the QIPs procured a number of motorbikes,
generators, fuel, mattresses, bed spreads,
laptops, printers, cameras, internet modems,
chlorine, faucet buckets, and toiletries to
facilitate the work of the Ebola taskforces
in the counties. The taskforce in Rivercess
County received six motorbikes, while that
in Bong County had two 5.5 KVA generators
for its newly established Ebola Treatment

Unit (ETU), with the one in Grand Gedeh
benefiting from the repair of the countys
two broken down ambulances.
QIPs intervention further culminated in
the erection of physical infrastructure in
some counties: a six-bed isolation centre in
Grande Gedeh, a triage in Nimba, and an
EVD holding unit in Gbarpolu.
The QIPs also extended its Ebola
roll-back activities to the Liberian security agencies, making available more than
US$100,000 for training and procurement
of personal protection equipment, thermometers, nose masks, and chlorine for the
Liberia National Police, Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, Drug Enforcement
Agency and Bureau of Corrections. The
security personnel were not only trained
in EVD, but also in law enforcement and
human rights related issues associated with
a state of emergency that was declared at the
peak of the outbreak.
All in all, the timely intervention of
the QIPs Ebola package spread across the
country, provided the needed catalyst for
mobilizing local community participation to
speed up the fight against the deadly disease.
And an elated Bong County Superintendent Selena Polson Mappy expressed her
appreciation, saying, All of us know what

UNMIL has done in this country, and they
continue to show to us that indeed, they are
our friend. UNMIL, thank you.
The QIPs also

extended its Ebola
roll back activities to
the Liberian security
agencies, making
available more than
100,000 US dollars
for training and
procurement of
personal protection
equipment ,
thermometers, nose
masks, and chlorine...
11

Vehicles being handed over to national authorities
As the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) struck Liberia out of

the blue, spreading panic and wreaking devastation, the UN
Mission in Liberia assumed a new role as the support base
for national and international efforts to combat the disease
while at the same time continuing with its peacekeeping
duties.
12
ince the Ebola outbreak, UNMIL has re-orientated and repositioned itself,
enabling it to provide security, and logistic and human resource support to the
myriad international and local organizations implementing Ebola containment projects across Liberia.
Having more than a decade of knowledge of Liberias transportation ter-
rain, and heading the Ebola Inter-Agency

Logistics Team at Liberias Ministry of
Health and Social Welfare, UNMIL leveraged its logistics and human capital aimed
at rolling back the disease. It made available
its transport facilities for carting medical
supplies and workers of UN agencies and
charity organizations to various parts of
the country. Some of the beneficiaries of
UNMILs magnanimity included the newly
established United Nations Mission on
Emergency Ebola Response (UNMEER)
headquartered in Accra, Ghana, WHO, UNHCR, UNICEF and WFP, as well as some
UN member states on Ebola eradication
mission in Liberia.
In fact, UNMIL not only
Law enforcement agancies
helped deploy
also benefited from
UNMEER staff
donations
to Liberia, it
also provided
them with office space, office equipment,
VHF radios with established call signs, and
internet services throughout the country. Additionally, UNMIL facilitated the air-lifting
of UNMEERs vehicles, and equipment
into Liberia. Furthermore, UNMIL loaned
some of its staff to the Ebola mission, while
UNMEER field officers in the counties
co-located with their UNMIL counterparts,
sharing information, and coordinating activities geared towards the eradication of the
Ebola virus disease.
With the presence of its peacekeepers
across Liberia, UNMIL became the launching pad for UN agencies and international
charities going to remote parts of the country for Ebola containment interventions.
UNMIL military and civilian peacekeepers
not only assist them to understand the social
and cultural topography of their host communities, they also provide them with security support. In October this year, UNMIL
Ghanaian peacekeepers rescued four WHO
staff and two Liberian health workers on
Ebola duty in Nimba County marooned by a
damaged vehicle that had blocked the road
on which they were travelling.
Aware of the logistic challenges facing
Liberia, UNMIL donated 50 vehicles to the
government to be used for activities geared
UNMIL Repositions
Itself to Battle Ebola
towards fighting the disease, while deploying its engineering battalions to rehabilitate main supply routes and repair access
roads to Ebola treatment Units (ETUs)
across the country. UNMIL also rolled out
US$500,000 worth Ebola projects under
its Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) to the 15
counties in addition to making available
more than US$100,000 to support Liberian
security agencies to implement projects to
tackle the disease.
UNMILs Public Information Office,
in close collaboration with national and
international partners, mounted a relentless
radio and outreach campaign on the disease
with innovative radio programmes and messaging, and community outreach activities,
distributing flyers, posters, banners, T-shirts,
as well as erecting billboards in various
parts of the country. The Public Information Office also engaged the services of
traditional communicators, who toured the
counties, using traditional songs and dramas
to sensitize the people on the disease. A
five-song music album, describing how to
prevent the disease, was launched and copies distributed to community radio stations
across the country.
Above all, the Special Representative of
the Secretary-General, Karin Landgren, who
is also the Coordinator of United Nations
Operations in Liberia, has been provid-
ing staunch support to the fight against the

deadly disease with her hope-nourishing
visits to the counties, re-assuring Liberians
of the UNs unflinching commitment to support the government deal with the epidemic.
The commitment of the UN is absolute
to stay with Liberia and helping see Liberia
through this catastrophe that has befallen,
she declared during one such visits to
Bong County. And in Nimba County, after
turning-over a temporary Ebola screening
centre to the county authorities, the UN top
envoy told the people that, We are all in
this together. I want to assure you that you
have the continued support of the United
Nations, and that we are all behind you, and
that we will stay here for as long as it takes
to support you through this.
UNMIL, through its

Public Information
Office, mounted a
relentless radio and
outreach campaign
on the disease...
13
Helen Clark Lauds

Community Volunteers
for Battling Ebola
By Romeo Juwle Togba
All of my family
members in early
August 2014 died
of Ebola. I was
the only one that
survived from
my household of
30 people. My
husband and three
children also
died in the battle
against Ebola.
osephine Dolley, 32, was narrating

her story to UNDP Administrator,
Helen Clark, who sat next to her
on a bench under a mango tree in
the sandy Monrovia suburb of New
Kru.
UNDP Administrator
Helen Clark
14
Helen Clark with Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General Antonio Vigilante
Visiting Liberia in February, Clark had

gone to the New Kru Town to see first hand
the work of a group of community volunteers called Active Case Finders.
The group had been working with UNDP
in identifying Ebola cases and suspected
Ebola patients in the New Kru Town community.
It was through the Active Case Finders
that my house was identified and I was subsequently taken to the Ebola treatment unit
at Island Clinic, Dolley recalled. Their
interventions helped me to be alive today.
The head of the New Kru Town Ebola
Taskforce Baccus Karpeh said assistance
from UNDP was crucial in pushing forward
their activities.
UNDP provided stipends and mobile
phones to us as we roamed the 25 communities in this township tracking Ebola cases as
well as suspected Ebola cases. That enabled
us to mobilize over 200 active case finders,
Karpeh said at a meeting attended by Clark
in the New Kru Town community.
The assistance from UNDP further
energized us to track 800 cases in this area.
Our efforts helped in rolling back Ebola
in this community which was previously
considered a hot-spot for the Ebola virus
disease. We were walking from community
to community making sure and locating the

sick people and getting the ambulance team
to pick them up.
At the beginning denial was the main
obstacle to our work. But with support from
UNDP and sustained awareness, the people
began to accept the fact that Ebola was real
and change their attitudes. Today as we
speak, we have gone over 30 days without a
case of Ebola, Karpeh noted.
Karpeh said even as they score gains in
the fight against the disease, catering for survivors of Ebola remained a challenge for the
New Kru Town Ebola Taskforce, and urges
the government, UNDP and other partners to
help provide vocational and technical training to the survivors to help them acquire
skills to improve their livelihoods.
With your incredible work as volunteers
coupled with what other actors are doing, Ebola is very close to being beaten in
Liberia, UNDP Administrator Clark lauded
the work of the volunteers. Lets salute the
courage of every contact-tracer, those removing bodies and taking sick people away.
Everybody owes you all gratitude.
Clark said the work of the Liberian communities in the fight against Ebola left an
indelible mark of respect in the minds of the
outside world.
I want to say that anything UNDP did

to support you was small in comparison to
what you did for your community. You are
the real heroes. You made the difference.
Clark said that as progress is being made
against Ebola, the next step is to help rebuild
institutions affected by the outbreak. There
are some big needs. And one of the reasons
I have come is because minds are turning
to how Liberia will recover from the Ebola
crisis.
We are looking at what needs to be
done to put a health system in place which
can stop something like Ebola at the very
beginning, Clark noted.
There are issues of social protection for
children and families affected by the Ebola
outbreak. And UNDP will be giving some
support to the Ministry of Gender, Children
and Social Protection to continue its work
because there are families who have lost everything and they need to restart their lives.
And we also need to encourage development partners to invest in basic things
like water and sanitation which is critical
for stopping the spread of disease, Clark
concluded.
15
Women and Girls Bear the Brunt of

the Ebola Epidemic
ccording to a survey
conducted in seven
of Liberias 15 counties by UNMILs
Office of the Gender
Advisor in November, 2014, women and girls bear the brunt of
the epidemic.
In families where the disease has wiped
out all women, girls as young as 15 years
A group of Liberian women at a health facility
UNMIL Photo
It has now become abundantly

clear that the Ebola virus disease
(EVD) crisis has gone far beyond
being a health problem, and it
has seriously impacted the social
fabric and economic infrastructure
of the country.
16
have taken over the responsibility of managing the family; while the closure of borders
and markets have resulted in the loss of
livelihood for women engaged in agriculture
and cross-border trade, the study reveals.
The survey, carried out in Bomi, Bong,
Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Lofa,
Margibi and Nimba counties, some of the
areas which experienced severe outbreak
of the disease, is intended to generate a
baseline assessment on the impact of the
disease on women and girls to develop
gender-sensitive and responsive strategies
to cushion the negative impact of EVD on
women. The acting head of the Office of the
Gender Adviser, James Mugo Muriithi says
the findings will be used to guide post-Ebola
programming and reconstruction in Liberia.
In Bomi County, a 15-year old mother
has assumed the responsibility of fending
for her several siblings, breastfeeding her
8-month brother in addition to her own baby
after the Ebola virus disease had claimed the
life of her mother.
The increased burden on girls as household heads, Muriithi notes, will likely
expose them to all forms of exploitation, as
they try to navigate the rough economic and
social terrains to acquire food, shelter, and
other basic needs, adding that enrollment
in school remains a distant dream to such
children.
Restriction on cross-border movement
has had severe impact on women and their
socio-economic activities as breadwinners
of the family. It not only deprived them of
their income and livelihood, it also made
them spend their business capital on food,
preventing them from paying back the loans
they had taken. It also led to the collapse
of their businesses as well as local microbanking schemes.
Another humanitarian challenge created
by the EVD epidemic, the report discov-
Women groups, such as this one, have been actively involved

in spreading Ebola awareness messages
ered, is the large number of children whose

parents have been killed by the disease.
The number of orphans and unaccompanied
children left behind by the disease is soaring
in Lofa, Bomi, Nimba, and Bong counties.
The study further reveals that the closure
of health facilities when health workers
were infected with the virus at the beginning
of the outbreak has adversely impacted on
the delivery of maternal health and childcare
services.
Most of the women who went to the
health facilities were turned away for the
fear of infecting health workers with Ebola;
even traditional midwives feared attending to pregnant women, the study points
out, noting that this culminated in pregnant
women seeking maternal health services
from untrained birth attendants, and also
receiving maternal health services from
private clinics at exorbitant fees.
The study says there appears to be
mistrust between health workers and pregnant women. As a result, pregnant women
are still reluctant to seek maternal health
services even after the opening of the health
facilities. This development is likely to
erode the relative gains Liberia has made in
maternal health.
Medical Director of CB Dunbar Mater-
nity Hospital in Gbarnga, Dr. Obed Dolo

recently warned that Liberia risks losing
ground in the fight against maternal mortality if the distrust between health workers
and pregnant women continues. Liberia
has one of the highest maternal mortality
rates in the world: 770 deaths/100,000 live
births, according to the 2014 UNDP Human
Development Report.
In the area of child healthcare delivery,
the survey discovered that since June 2014,
newborn babies have not received any form
of immunization.
The study concludes by calling for a
more comprehensive effort after the containment of the EVD to determine the full
impact of the disease on women and girls
in Liberia. As the impact of the disease remains skewed against women and girls, the
study recommends the development of comprehensive, sustainable community-based
programmes targeting institutions that build
on culture religious and traditional institutions, family, schools, political leadership,
and legal framework to address entrenched
values and practices that promote vulnerability of women and girls.
17
Global Communities Photo/Alice Urban
By Alice Urban
As Liberia continues to hunt down

the Ebola virus, traditional leaders are
working to root out infections amongst
the countrys hard-to-reach and most
secretive traditional institutions.
Chief Zanzan Karwa, Chairman of the National

Council of Chiefs and Elders
18
lthough Liberias bush schools, which teach behaviors and rituals that
prepare youth for adulthood in traditional society, have faced criticism, they
still thrive in many parts of the country. In mid-January, Global Communities, a non-profit organization that works with vulnerable people around the
world, launched a Special Traditional and Cultural Engagement initiative to
encourage traditional leaders at bush schools to actively engage in Ebola prevention.
The goal is to stop traditional practices

at these schools for now, because some
practices support Ebola transmission, said
Global Communities Country Director
Pieter deVries.
It is believed that thousands of youth
leave home every year to attend bush
schools, forest camps run by zoes (spiritual
leaders) where they are initiated into secret
societies called poros for boys and sandes
for girls.
Health messaging has permeated much
of the country, but World Health Organization remains concerned that the last cases
of Ebola infection and transmission will be
the most difficult to reach. Practices in bush
schools are not often discussed, but are said
to include male and female circumcision as
a means of initiation and other activities that
could promote Ebola transmission. Potential
Ebola cases would likely remain unknown
to health officials due to the secretive nature
of the rituals. To reach bush schools, it is
necessary to engage traditional leadership.
The Special Traditional and Cultural Engagement initiative, a component of Global
Communities ongoing USAID-funded Assisting Liberians with Education to Reduce
Transmission (ALERT) programme, will
help chiefs to travel and meet with bush
school leaders to encourage them to halt certain practices while Ebola remains a threat.
Since the beginning of the outbreak,
Global Communities has worked closely
with traditional leaders to spread preventative health messaging. These leaders play
a leading role in community meetings and
dialogue sessions, particularly in remote
communities and those with high levels of
Ebola denial, said George Woryonwon,
Environmental Health Advisor at Global
Communities.
The National Council of Chiefs and
Elders, Liberias traditional authority, is the
only entity with the ability to monitor the
bush schools activities. Access is limited to
traditional leaders only. There is ongoing
secrecy there. Non-members cannot go,
Reaching Bush Schools to Prevent Ebola
Members of the National Council of Chiefs and

Elders in a special EVD response meeting at the
Ministry of Internal Affairs
said Woryonwon.
To ensure that Ebola messaging reaches
the schools, Global Communities will work
directly with the Council by providing logistical and coordination support. Traditional
leaders will take the lead with direct engagement with the schools.
We are in partnership with Global
Communities to spread awareness, said
Setta Fofana Saah, National Coordinator for
the Council of Chiefs and Elders. Traditional people are very innocent to Ebola. It
is important to come together to teach them
and solve this problem.
The initiative kicked off at Lofa Countys Voijama city hall with a celebration
attended by some 150 community members,
government officials, NGO representatives
and 18 chiefs representing all of Liberias
15 counties. The event included songs and
dance, a traditional welcoming and launch

ceremony and speeches by, among others,
representatives of various government agencies and Chief Zanzan Karwa, chairman of
the National Council of Chiefs and Elders.
All the zoes, listen to me, said
Karwa. We can teach you about Ebola. Let
Ebola leave this country. He then formally
launched the proramme, calling all zoes to
suspend activities until Liberia is declared
Ebola-free.
Following the launch, chiefs broke into
six teams, which also included Global Communities and Ministry of Health representatives, and deployed across the country.
They will spend the next month traveling
to remote communities often by foot to
meet with zoes and work to put an end to
one of Liberias remaining Ebola transmission threats.
________________________
The writer is Communications & Reporting
Officer for Global Communities.
19
Cross Border Technical

Meeting on Ebola
By James S. King
In meeting the challenge of tackling the

Ebola outbreak, a cross border technical
meeting of the West African authorities
played a significant role.
Cross-border technical meeting in progress
20
he meeting held in Monrovia in December 2014

helped strategize, coordinate and integrate regional
approaches to eradicate
the disease that didnt show any sign of
A cross-section of the participants
decrease despite many months of battle by

the Liberian government and international
and local partners. The unprecedented
spread of the disease and the lack of trained
health workers, infrastructure and logistics
presented obstacles to an early containment
of the disease.
In her address to the participants of the
meeting, Liberias President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf said countries in West Africa particularly Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone,
share a common history of armed conflicts,
experiences, cultures and traditions that
enable them to identify their enemies but
Ebola was an unknown enemy difficult to
identify and confront. These shared common cultures and traditions in the region are
what people rely on to eradicate Ebola from
a region where leaders will not allow Ebola
crisis to derail the gains made over the
years, Sirleaf said. She said leaders in West
Africa will collaborate and coordinate their
efforts to eradicate Ebola.
Anthony Banbury, then Head of the UN
Mission for Emergency Ebola Response
(UNMEER), called for a redesign of current measures put in place to tackle public
health challenges citing Ebola virus disease
as one that poses risk to every nation. He
said the UNs development programmes

are designed with consideration of national
borders but that requires a change in the
way we normally operate for quick response
to Ebola crisis.
The porosity of borders between and
amongst countries in the region presents
obstacles to efforts aimed at integrating
regional approach to eradicate Ebola virus
disease, Banbury said. He said achieving
a zero EVD incidence requires effective
cross-border operations of communications and information sharing in a practical
way between and amongst EVD affected
countries.
The Technical Meeting lasted for two
days and led to frank exchanges of ideas
and experiences. Authorities from Liberia,
Guinea, Sierra Leone and Mali presented
statics on progress and challenges in the
fight against EVD. Nigeria, Cte dIvoire
and Senegal were also represented at the
meeting. Liberia reported a remarkable de-
cline in new cases of Ebola between October

and December 2014 with Lofa County, once
the epicenter of the disease, and many other
counties recording considerable decrease in
the number of cases.
Authorities from
Liberia, Guinea,
Sierra Leone and
Mali presented
statics on progress
and challenges in
the fight against
EVD.
21
Liberia Moves Ahead

he socio-economic and psychological impact of the pandemic will be felt by

the country for a long time to come.
The visible improvement in the EVD situation saw Liberia holding a
successful senatorial poll, reopening of schools after a long hiatus, and the
launch of a landmark document, the National Deconcentration Platform,
a key component of the National Decentralization Policy intended to make quality services
available and accessible to the people.
22
Launch of the Deconcentration Platform
Launching the Deconcentration Platform

on 18 February in Liberias central city of
Gbarnga, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
declared that the occasion sends a clear
and strong message that our country is on
course, and bouncing back, mighty and
strong, in spite of the ravages that faced us
from the Ebola enemy.
The Deconcentration Platform, put
together in consultation with governance
experts, government ministries, the Governance Commission, development partners
and the citizenry, spells out 45 public services hitherto accessed only in the national
capital to be devolved and delivered in the
counties. The services include issuance of
drivers licenses, birth certificates, traditional marriage and divorce certificates, registration of business, vehicles and license plates,
issuance of ECOWAS aliens work permit,
and adjudication of labour cases.
President Sirleaf described the Platform
as a fast moving process for the delivery of
public services out of the national capital to
county centres in an efficient and coordinated manner to build synergies at county
level among service delivery ministries and
agencies of government to ensure that the
people are effectively served.
In the words of Internal Affairs Minister
Morris Dukuly, whose ministry spearheaded
the process of developing the document,
The Deconcentration will enable us spread
critical and vital services throughout the
country, rather than concentrating them in
Monrovia.
At the heart of the implementation of
the deconcentration blueprint are County
Superintendents, who have been conferred
the authority to coordinate and manage the
service delivery process in their counties.
The Superintendents, who would soon be
known as County Chief Executive Officers,
have also been empowered to coordinate the
activities of staff of all line ministries and
agencies in their counties. County treasuries
are also to be established to make it possible
for government employees to receive their
salaries in their respective counties.
President Sirleaf used the occasion to
induct into office executives of the newly
UNMIL Photo/Russell Geekie
Liberia is slowly getting back on its feet

after the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)
killed thousands of people, leaving in
its wake some 5,000 orphans.
UNMIL Photo/ Daniel Mensah Brande
DSRSG Vigilante with local

government officials in the Southeast
formed National Superintendents Council,

reminding them of the increased responsibility they had been given to be the bridge to
the people. It is really you that are on the
spot, the President told them, cautioning
that, If you get it wrong, we are in serious
trouble.
The Liberian leader announced that
Government Centers would be established in
the counties to house the service offices and
facilities. County Superintendents have been
tasked to make available 250 acres of land
for the construction of the centers.
Also speaking at the ceremony attended
by senior government and UN officials,
donor partners and Liberians from various
stations of life, was Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Governance, Antonio Vigilante, who hailed the
Deconcentration Platform as a visionary
decentralization roadmap to deliver better
and more services to the people. Vigilante,
who is also the UNDP Resident Coordinator
in Liberia, expressed the continued commitment of the UN to support national efforts
towards decentralization and development,
and urged the leadership of the counties to
approach the implementation of the Platform
with the same zeal and determination they
displayed in the fight against the EVD.
Launched under the theme Deconcen-
tration: Road to More Services, More Local

Participation and Greater Democracy, Liberias decentralization policy seeks inclusive
socio-economic growth and rights-based
and gender responsive development with the
overall objective of sustaining the ongoing
peace-building and reconciliation process.
The participation of the citizenry in the
implementation of the Platform is very crucial to its success. Traditional leaders also
have a critical role to play in conflict settlement and consensus-building. President
Sirleaf amplified this at the launch when she
rallied the support of the traditional leaders
for the document, saying, To the custodians
of our traditions and cultures, we count on
you to lead us in this process and confer it
with the legitimacy, dignity and honor that
you symbolize in your communities.
The successful execution of the National
Deconcentration Platform will pave the
way for the second and the final phase of
the decentralization program, the sharing
of political authority with local governance institutions, leading to the election
of County Superintendents, local councils,
and sub-county officials, vesting them with
the power to administer the affairs of their
people.
23
Two refugees proudly display their ID cards. UNMIL Photo/ Emmanuel Tobey
Refugee ID Cards Help Ensure Access to Legal Rights
By Carol Rowe
People fleeing violence often leave home

with only the clothes on their backs.
n the rush to escape, they may leave behind vital documents that establish their identity and ensure maintenance of their basic rights in the
event they cross a border into another country.
In such cases, the registration of refugees and asylum seekers becomes a painstaking task of verifying a persons identity and those of
their dependents, along with other critical information that will establish
their legal right to live in their new country of residence.
Even those who cross a border with some kind of documentation must have their
stories verified. That process typically involves government officials working with
24
refugee leaders who are able to detect any

false information because of their detailed
knowledge of the refugees home country.
UNHCR has printed more than 25,000
photo identification cards for refugees over
the age of seven since the beginning of last
year. Printing and distribution of the ID
cards is an ongoing process with more cards
issued to refugees every month.
These cards establish the holders legal
right to reside in Liberia, which comes
with freedom of movement and the ability
to work, attend school, and gain access to
social services. Previously, they had only
ration cards to indicate their refugee status.
We give them documentation to allow
them to benefit from all rights and services
to which a legal alien residing in Liberia is
entitled, explains Mariam Diallo, senior
protection officer at UNHCRs branch office
in Monrovia. Having proper identification
is key to ensuring individuals maintain their
human rights.
For the same reasons, UNHCR has

encouraged and supported the Government
of Liberia in issuing birth certificates for
the thousands of refugee children who have
been born in Liberia while their parents
reside here.
Incorporating the issuance of birth certificates into national procedures has made it
easy for refugees to undertake birth registration and obtain the needed certificates at
all locations in the country, says Andreas
Fiadorme, head of UNHCR Field Office in
Harper, Maryland County.
Birth certificates and identification cards
are important to securing individual rights,
both for those who integrate into the local
population and those who repatriate to their
country of origin. Without documentation,
individuals are at risk of statelessness in the
event that no country agrees to afford them
citizenship.
UNHCR worked with its government
partner, the Liberia Refugee Repatriation
and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC), to

register the refugees, while also creating a
refugee database and undertaking the printing of identification cards.
These cards establish

the holders legal
right to reside in
Liberia, which
comes with freedom
of movement and
the ability to work,
attend school, and
gain access to social
services.
25
Ivorian Refugees Take Steps Toward Self-Reliance

By Carol Rowe
I lost my husband in the heat of the Ivorian civil

war, says Josephine, 23, who fled her country in
2011 and is currently living in Bahn Refugee Camp
in Nimba County.
was pregnant at that

time. I used to solely
depend on the UNHCR
food rations and when
there was no more food
left in the home, I went to other peoples
farms in the host communities to work for
them in order to get food for my two children and my grandmother.
own materials, which helps me get money to

support my family. Very soon, when ADRA/
CWAP gives me my startup materials, I will
call myself a businesswoman.
Helping refugees like Josephine to become self-reliant has been a growing priority
for UNHCR as it seeks to find durable solutions for those who sought refuge in Liberia
A refugee lady leaves her farm having

havested some of her produce
and reduce the poverty level among people

in the refugee camps and host communities.
The skills also will be useful for those who
voluntarily repatriate to Cte dIvoire.
In addition to the skills courses offered in
the camps, training in agricultural practices
is being conducted to enhance the refugees
long-term food security, and more than
1,850 refugees have benefited.
We came to this camp with nothing,

said Felix, 54, who lives in Bahn Camp with
his wife and six children. Life was so difficult, especially with the number of people
in my family.
But after joining the camps agriculture
Where backyard gardens or farming

has been established, refugees are able to
supplement their rations with rice, maize,
cassava, and assorted vegetables they have
grown themselves. Some refugees also are
raising animals such as pigs and rabbits for
longer-term income.
programme, he said, I have thirteen 50kg

bags of seed rice that I produced from the
swamp right behind my shelter. Now we
have enough food for our family, and we can
sell a portion of the rice to settle some of our
financial obligations.
A group of women in a batik training class
UNHCR Photo/Carol Rowe
ADRA Photo/Ngendahayo Fidele
Last year, Josephine completed one of

UNHCRs livelihood training programmes
offered by the Adventist Development and
Relief Agency and Center for Women Agriculture Program.
Now I have learned a trade and can
make enough money to support my family,
Josephine says. I have already started
making some batik on my own using my
from violence in Cte dIvoire.

About 38,000 Ivorian refugees remain in
Liberia today, after post-election violence
in Cte dIvoire forced over 200,000 to flee
across the border. The Ivorian refugees in
Liberia are spread out among three refugee
campsBahn in Nimba County, PTP in
Grand Gedeh County, and Little Wlebo in
Maryland Countyand a handful of adjacent communities.
The number of Ivorian refugees in
Liberia peaked at about 220,000 in 2011,
and 80 per cent of those have since returned to their country. Those that remain
have been hindered from going home due
to the Ebola crisis and resultant border
closure.
Some 240 refugees completed skills
courses in 2014. Courses included
batik, tailoring, cosmetology, bread and
pastry making, soap making, carpentry,
masonry, two-stroke engine mechanics,
plumbing, and computer applications.
Organizers say that many more
refugees would like to be trained if the
programme had enough money for materials and starter kits. The refugees are
awarded starter kits after graduation to
help establish them in business cooperatives or otherwise assist them in pursuing
their new livelihoods.
Mamie, 24, a refugee who learned to
make soap in the ADRA/CWAP skills
programme, echoes Josephines pride in
having learned a new skill. She says it
has increased her self-esteem since she
previously depended on men to support
her and those men often let her down.
This skill will allow me to earn
money that can keep me going, Mamie
says, adding that there are many refugee
girls who are not doing anything in the
camp and this programme would help them
to learn something for their future.
Monique Rudacogora, head of UNHCR
Field Office in Saclepea and focal point on
livelihood programming, says the goal is to
enable refugees to acquire vocational skills
that will offer them a sustainable income
26
27
UN FOCUS, Vol. 11, No. 03

A publication of the United Nations Mission in Liberia Public Information Office
www.unmil.unmissions.org

UN FOCUS February 2015

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UN FOCUS February 2015

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Issue 01, Volume 12 | February 2015

Ban Ki-moon Pays

Quick Impact Projects

Helen Clark Lauds

Women and Girls

Message from the Special

Liberia Moves Ahead

Reaching Bush Schools

Cross Border Technical

Ivorian Refugees Take

EDITOR AND HEAD OF