Two hundred former combatants of the conflict in Liberia will be
given an opportunity to not only earn a living and complete their
reintegration into society, but also to make a difference in
reducing pollution and improving the health and living conditions
of the most vulnerable communities in the capital, Monrovia.

The former combatants will take part in a new IOM programme
funded by the German government which will help municipal
authorities re-start and manage a comprehensive waste management
system in Monrovia.

The fourteen-year conflict which killed more than 200,000 people
and displaced another one million also destroyed much of the
country's infrastructure, contributing to the spread of poverty and
disease.

A middle-income country before the conflict began in 1989, 75
per cent of Liberia's population now lives on less than a dollar a
day.

The capital in particular is facing particular stress. Monrovia
has more than tripled in size since 1989 and is now home to a third
of the country's total population. One million people are living in
an over-crowded city severely lacking in key infrastructure
including a waste management system.

Efforts to bring the country back to normal are dependent on the
successful completion of the disarmament, demobilisation and
reintegration of former combatants, more than 103,000 of whom have
been registered so far through a national demobilisation programme.
Monrovia itself has large numbers of unemployed former combatants
on its streets with the national unemployment rate estimated as
being as high as 85 per cent.

Coordinating the programme with Monrovia's Municipal Public
Works (MPV), the World Bank and the International Labour
Organization (ILO) which are also supporting and carrying out
projects focused on addressing unemployment and waste management
issues, IOM will help restart a waste collection and management
service.

The Organization will provide technical assistance to local
authorities; create the necessary premises to implement a waste
collection system; identify, recruit, train and manage a local
workforce from among unemployed former combatants and devise
information campaigns aimed at raising awareness among the city's
population of environment and health-related issues.

For further information, please contact:

Ferdinand Paredes

IOM Monrovia

Tel: + 231 6 448 129 or +231 666 5950

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