Children and families flee Liberia caterpillar invasion

A plague of tens of millions of caterpillars is ruining crops and forcing terrified villagers to flee their homes in Liberia. It is in the country's worst plague in 30 years and a ‘national emergency’ that could spread across West Africa, said the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

The inch-long critters, described as "black, creeping and hairy" by villagers were advancing across the north of the already impoverished country, contaminating water supplies, wrecking food crops and overrunning families homes. Unless contained, the situation was "very likely" to escalate into a “regional catastrophe” involving neighbouring Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, said Winfred Hammond, FAO Representative in Liberia.

"The problem in Liberia is quite alarming," said Hammond. "Sometime last week some caterpillars that were observed on foreign plantations and have moved on to food crops and vegetation as a whole were spreading very fast and was also causing damage not only to crops but contaminating waterways and therefore making it difficult for many villagers and the inhabitants to get access to good drinking water. This is really creating an emergency situation across the country."

Emergency committees have been set up, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported, but Hammond warned that "the country lacks the financial resources and technical expertise to combat the emergency on its own and will require international assistance. As many as 50 villages in the Bong, Lofa and Gbarpolu regions have been hit by the insects, which are suspected to be African armyworms. Two-thirds of Bong's 200,000 residents have been affected. On Friday the swarms were reportedly moving across the border with Guinea.

The Liberian government has asked the Economic Community of West African States regional bloc and the FAO for support. The FAO is assessing the situation with a task force of experts from Ghana and Sierra Leone. Specimens of the caterpillars have been flown to Accra to be identified, to pinpoint the best type of pesticide to use.
Already Liberia suffers chronic food shortages, a lack of basic social services, increased poverty and disease. The rate of HIV infection is increasing, particularly among people aged 15 to 49.

SOS Children has two Children’s Villages in Liberia. One in Juah Town, Bassah county (the caterpillar affected northern region) and one in the capital, Monrovia.

Written by Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children

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