Loguatuo, Nimba County – A non-governmental organization, the Community Health Education Social Services (CHESS-Liberia), has launched a cross-border engagement between Ivory Coast and Liberia to reinforce Social Cohesion and border Security.
The launch of the platform comes amid heightened tensions in the Ivory Coast in the wake of a disputed elections that has led more than a thousand Ivorians to cross over to Liberia and other neighboring countries.
The program is sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Peace Building funds program funded under the title, “Cross Border Engagement between Ivory Coast and Liberia to Reinforce Social Cohesion and Border Security”.
It is being implemented in Nimba County by CHESS- Liberia with Co- title “Dialogue to Overturn Violence and Enhance Peace (DOVE-Peace).
The launching ceremony in Loguatuo brought together members of the joint Security from Liberia and the Ivory Coast, as well as local authorities.
Speaking at the ceremony, the executive Director of CHESS- Liberia, Alexander Nyah, Jr. said the project is targeting 12 mirroring communities from four administrative districts with the objective to strengthening an inclusive and cohesive conflict prevention and dispute resolution platform for dialogue on social cohesion and protection.
It is also geared towards promoting women’s rights and trade between Liberia and Ivory Coast.
Nyah named the four administrative districts as Gbelay- Geh, Tweh River, Buu- Yao and Kparblee.
Speaking further, he disclosed that CHESS-LIBERIA is expected to launch phase two of the project in January 2021.
Also speaking, the Coordinator of the Nimba County Security Council, Koman Bartuah and the head of the Ivorian joint Security, Captain Kaoprire, in separate remarks, thanked CHESS-Liberia for the launch of the program.
Mr. Bartuah and his Ivorian counterpart expressed hope that the project will help enhance peace in the two sisterly Countries.
They pledged their respective countries’ support towards the organization’s activities that will be carried out in these communities.
CHESS-LIBERIA is a reputable and award winning non-political, non-profit, non-religious NGO founded on February 16, 2004 by a Liberia Civil war affected health worker, the late John Alexander Nyahn, Sr. to provide preventive health services and social protection to over 250,000 internally displaced persons and 55,000 Ivorian and Sierra Leoneans refugee.