IOM has today appealed for USD 41.6 million to provide urgently
needed aid to thousands escaping the violence in Côte
d'Ivoire and to avert a looming humanitarian catastrophe.

The situation in the capital Abidjan, and in the west and
central regions of the country, has dramatically deteriorated due
to continued heavy fighting.  Thousands of civilians have been
trapped inside their houses without food and water for more than a
week.  It is estimated that over 1 million people have left
their homes in Abidjan and are now sheltering with relatives.

Reports from Abidjan indicate that large numbers of dead bodies
are strewn in the streets and entire neighbourhoods are without
electricity and water.  The city, home to five million people,
has a severe shortage of water treatment products.  It is
feared that this could lead to an early outbreak of water-borne
diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea.

As part of the UN Emergency Humanitarian Action Plan (EHAP) for
Cote d'Ivoire and neighbouring countries, IOM is appealing for
funds to provide emergency camp management support and humanitarian
assistance including shelter, food, water, medicine and non-food
relief items to internally displaced persons (IDPs).

It is also appealing for funding to provide return assistance to
an estimated 200,000 stranded migrants from Burkina Faso, Ghana,
Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal, who are fleeing Cote
d'Ivoire.

As the lead agencies for Camp Coordination and Management, IOM
and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will work to
identify and register an estimated 800,000 IDPs scattered around
the country; assess their needs and ensure that camps and other
sites where the IDPs are sheltering are safe for all residents;
ensure the effective delivery of protection and assistance; collect
and disseminate accurate information for effective planning and
response; and ensure that Gender Based Violence (GBV) and other
protection risks are minimized, amongst others.

Working with UNHCR, the lead agency in charge of protection, IOM
will help to provide access to water, sanitation facilities, food,
and shelter; ensure that vulnerable populations, such as
unaccompanied or separated children, female and child-headed
households, child soldiers, and people with disabilities, have
access to healthcare and psycho-social support; strengthen the
monitoring system at borders; as well as data collection,
management and reporting systems to identify protection
concerns.

IOM staff, in coordination with Caritas, UNHCR and  the
World Food Programme (WFP), have registered and assisted more than
25,000 IDPs who have sought refuge in and around a Catholic mission
in Duekoue, and who are in dire need of food, water, shelter,
medical and sanitation assistance, as well as cooking sets, jerry
cans, sleeping mats, soap and blankets.

This assistance is part of IOM operations underway since January
in Cote d'Ivoire and surrounding countries to help IDPs, refugees
and migrants affected by the crisis, in collaboration with
authorities, the UN and other partners.

In January, IOM appealed for an initial USD 3.5 million to carry
out a range of operations including assisting IDPs, third country
nationals and stranded migrants in Cote d'Ivoire.

For further information, please contact:

Jumbe Omari Jumbe

IOM Geneva

Tel: + 41-22-717-9405

E-mail: "mailto:jjumbe@iom.int">jjumbe@iom.int