Teamwork In Support For Liberia

Joint UN Office Will Boost Teamwork In Support For Liberia, Envoy Says

New York, Mar 9 2009 4:10PM The opening of a joint United Nations office in a provincial capital of Liberia will boost cooperation in international support to the West African country, which is recovering from a devastating 14-year civil war, a UN official said today.

“We have done a lot of planning and lot of work together. It is time for us to change from ‘plenty talk’ to ‘plenty work now,’” said Jordan Ryan, the Deputy UN Envoy in Liberia at the inauguration of the joint UN-office in Zwedru, the capital of southeastern Grand Gedeh County.

The second such office in the country – the first one was opened in June last year in Voinjama, Lofa County – brings together five UN agencies and the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

The five agencies are the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WFP), the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The organizations will carry out joint assessments, planning, programming, implementing and monitoring of projects in the county, creating, Mr. Ryan stressed, an opportunity for the UN to maximize the effectiveness of its expertise for the benefit of the people.

According to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report on Liberia, the country has continued to make “steady progress” in its recovery strategy – focused on security, economic recovery, rule of law, infrastructure and basic services – but requires continued international assistance, especially in efforts to curb poverty.

ENDS

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