The political and ethnic turmoil provoked by the attempted coup in Côte d’Ivoire in September 2002 has affected millions of people and forced as many as 400,000, most of them migrant workers or their descendants, to flee to neighbouring countries.
An already serious situation could swiftly become a major humanitarian catastrophe should the current precarious state of affairs again degenerate into full-blown conflict. To respond to this humanitarian crisis, the International Federation today launched a revised appeal for 2.4 million Swiss francs (US$ 1.76 million) to help 200,000 people who have fled to Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Ghana, Liberia and Guinea for the coming four months. In December 2002, the Federation asked for 1.3 million Swiss francs (US$ 886,000) to help displaced people in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Large segments of Côte d’Ivoire’s population – in excess of 6 million people - have their roots in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. These people, many of them second- or third-generation immigrants, have been subjected to attack and intimidation since the conflict started and have been forced to abandon their possessions and seek refuge in “countries of origin” they barely know, often facing attacks, harassment and extortion along the way.
“The complex disaster that people were warning of is now a reality,” says Peter Pearce, head of a Federation field assessment mission to the region. “The influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees, returnees and other displaced people is putting an immense strain on the resources and services of already desperately poor countries,” he added.
The aim of the appeal is to reinforce the ongoing relief and humanitarian assistance work being carried out by national Red Cross Societies in the affected countries and ensure adequate contingency planning should the situation worsen. The Federation is also concerned that such a large population movement poses an increased risk to health, especially from diseases such as malaria and meningitis and HIV/AIDS. For this reason, health activities will be central to the operation.
“We are well aware of the financial realities, given the humanitarian needs in Iraq and other parts of Africa,” said Federation disaster operations manager Iain Logan. “But it is critical that these other crises do not overshadow what has the potential to be a humanitarian catastrophe that could last for many years.”
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