Over the past 15 years the Forest Region of Southeast Guinea has played host to waves of refugees and returning migrants from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire. The estimated 1.5 million-strong indigenous population of the Forest Region found itself swollen by up to 40 percent at times as people rushed in to seek shelter from conflicts in these three neighbouring countries.
By the end of 2004, the refugees from Sierra Leone had nearly all left and since the signing of a peace agreement to end the civil war in Liberia in August 2003, the Liberians have started going home, some spontaneously, others as part of a UNHCR-sponsored voluntary repatriation programme.
In February 2005, UNHCR officials in Guinea estimated there were still 75,000 to 90,000 Liberians left in the Forest Region, some in refugee camps, others living in local towns and villages. Up to 100,000 Guinean migrants who fled home from Cote d'Ivoire following the outbreak of conflict there in September 2002 also remained in the Forest Region, imposing an additional burden on local people.
These are the main international aid agencies which are trying to help people fleeing from conflict in the Forest Region and the local population that is hosting them:
UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) runs seven official refugee camps in the Forest Region; Kountaya, Telikoro and Boreah in the prefecture of Kissidougou, Kouankan in Macenta, and Laine, Nonah and Kola in Nzerekore. The largest of these camps is Laine, some 80 km north of the town of Nzerekore. It held an estimated 24,000 Liberian refugees at the end of January 2004. UNHCR began an official repatriation programme for Liberian refugees in Guinea on 1 October 2004.
WFP
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) distributes food supplies to the refugees in all seven camps. It also runs school feeding programmes for Guinean children in several towns and villages in the Forest Region.
UNICEF
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) runs education, public health and medical care projects in the refugee camps. It also runs vaccination programmes for the local population, gives medical supplies to local dispensaries and provides teaching materials to local schools. Its main operational bases are in the capital Conakry and Nzerekore, the main town in the Forest Region.
WHO
The United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO) has offices in Conakry and Nzerekore, from where it coordinates public health and information campaigns for both refugees and the local population.
GTZ
The German government aid agency GTZ specialises in logistics in the refugee camps. It has built access roads and has been charged with organising transport for the repatriation of Liberian refugees. GTZ also runs education and rehabilitation programmes in the towns of Kissidougou and Albadariah.
ICRC
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has an office in Nzerekore, from where it runs a refugee registration and protection programme, public health and water and sanitation projects. It also distributes non-food items to refugees. The ICRC runs similar programmes in Gueckedou and Kissidougou.
MSF
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Switzerland operates in the three refugee camps in Nzerekore prefecture. It runs health clinics and programmes to provide food security, clean drinking water and sanitation.
MSF France operates in Kouankan refugee camp near the town of Macenta, where it is involved in food security, water, sanitation and logistics, and the three refugee camps near Nzerekore.
MSF Belgium supports the hospital in Gueckedou, where it also runs an AIDS testing and treatment centre.
ACF
Action Contre La Faim (Action Against Hunger) has programmes related to food security, water and sanitation in all seven refugee camps.
American Refugee Committee
The American Refugee Committee has offices in Conakry and Nzerekore. It runs an AIDS-awareness programme for Liberian refugees in all seven camps and another for town dwellers in Nzerekore.
Family Health International
At the end of 2004, Family Health International, a US-based medical charity, was setting up a programme to control and prevent sexually transmitted diseases in Nzerekore. It was also setting up an AIDS-testing centre in the town.
OCHA
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has offices in Conakry and Nzerekore. Since 2004 OCHA has been coordinating the activities of international and local aid organisations aimed at improving conditions for the indigenous population of the Forest Region.
According to OCHA, about 75 Guinean non-governmental organisations were active in the Forest Region at the end of 2004. The largest of these was the Guinean Red Cross, which ran a number of information and social service programmes for both refugees and the local community. Most of the other NGOs ran small programmes with a relatively low impact.
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