Monitor Newspaper

Vahun Reconnects to the Rest of Lofa

The construction of the major bridge linking Vahun District to the rest of Lofa County has been completed enabling direct access to the district for the first time in 14 years. The Vahun is about 62km from Kolahun and has a population of about 24,000 with 56 towns and villages.

UNHCR directly accessed the area on 16 January 2008 to conduct protection monitoring, including community needs assessment. During the mission to Vahun, the UNHCR team observed the need for support to the district office and was presented with requests for assistance in the areas of health, education and economic empowerment.

The bridge that cut off Vahun from the rest of Lofa County.

Vahun District has lagged behind in terms of economy recovery initiatives and other interventions due to the problem of inaccessibility, but given the above positive development, protection monitoring and other humanitarian and development activities are expected to be enhanced in that part of the country soon and recovery efforts strengthened in the near future.

Direct link to Vahun District will bring about enhanced efforts of stakeholders and humanitarian partners to fill existing gaps in the various sectors wanting in that part of the country, including health, shelter, education, water and sanitation, empowerment and economic activities as well as the rule of law.

Prior to the completion of this bridge, UNHCR accessed the district through Sierra Leone including to carry out the just ended repatriation program. With support from the Swiss Government, UNHCR embarked on the Kolahun-Vahun road rehabilitation project last year as it was one of the major repatriation axes.

UNHCR also collaborated with other UN agencies and the government of Liberia to carry out other major roads rehabilitation in Lofa County including the Voinjama-Foya road. Improved road condition increased repatriation movement to these areas and reduced the repatriation travel time.
UNHCR contracted the services of private companies to carry out the Kolahun-Vahun road project. The SSF Company was involved in the road repair and culverts installation on the Kolahun-Vahun road section while the REDES Company took part in the rehabilitation of the Vahun major bridge over the Mawah River, which is about 5 minutes drive into Vahun Town, according to an UNHCR release issued in Monrovia recently.

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Monitor Newspaper (January 24, 2007)