Côte d’Ivoire: UN appeals for nearly $40 million to help over 300,000 people

United Nations agencies and their partners today issued an appeal for nearly $40 million to bring humanitarian relief to over 300,000 people in Côte d’Ivoire.

The money is expected to fund 17 projects as part of the strategic humanitarian priorities identified for the West African nation for 2009, which are to protect internally displaced persons (IDPs) and improve vulnerable people’s nutrition.

Aid workers have focused on assisting the uprooted who are returning to their homes, especially in Côte d’Ivoire’s west. They are also working to help children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

The 2007 Ouagadougou Agreement, the political accord reached in neighbouring Burkina Faso that aims to reconcile the Government and the rebel Forces Nouvelles, heralded a new era of political and humanitarian development in Côte d’Ivoire.

To safeguard the progress made in the country since the signing of the pact, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recommended extending the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force there, known as UNOCI, for another six-month period.

“While the country currently enjoys increased stability, the delicate electoral process, including the post-electoral period, and the implementation of the remaining tasks of the peace agreement require that UNOCI maintain its core capabilities,” Mr. Ban wrote in his latest report on Côte d’Ivoire.