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UN: UN
LAUNCHES FLASH APPEAL TO AID 75,000 FLOOD VICTIMS IN GHANA: 04/10/2007 (MaximsNews Network)
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UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network /
- 04 October 2007 -The
United Nations and partner organizations today launched a $10-million flash
appeal for 75,000 people in northern Ghana, where entire communities have been
hit by floods after heavy and persistent rain in late August and mid-September.
Farmers
in the already vulnerable Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions have lost
their crops, vast tracts of land, food storage and processing facilities are
submerged, and houses, bridges, schools and health facilities have been
destroyed by the waters, which are part of a wider flood crisis across a whole
swath of sub-Saharan Africa.
“Although
floods are common in Ghana, this year’s abnormally heavy rain has resulted in
flooding that is stretching the ability of affected communities to cope,” UN
Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said. “Food security is a particular
concern in areas of the country where people’s lives were already precarious.
The generosity of Member States and other donors can help prevent living
conditions from deteriorating even further.”
Preliminary
assessments by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture reveal an estimated loss of
144,000 metric tons of crops, including maize, sorghum, millet, peanuts, yam,
cassava and rice. In addition, prices of all staples have doubled since the
flooding, and not all food commodities are readily available at markets due to
flooded roads and submerged bridges.
This
leaves around 75,000 people at risk of malnutrition until next year’s harvest,
which will take place only if irrigated crops can be planted on schedule. Seeds,
fertilizer and tools must be supplied by March 2008 for that to happen. Funds
from the appeal will also ensure that those cut off by floodwaters have access
to health services through outreach and mobile clinics.
Partners
with logistics expertise will enable mobile teams to deliver essential drugs and
medical supplies to inaccessible areas by the use of helicopters or boats. The
teams will also be able to provide insecticide-treated bed-nets to prevent an
increase in malaria as the flood waters recede, as well as chlorine tablets to
make household water safe to drink.
Funds
are also needed to fix damaged public and household latrines. River boats will
be used throughout the relief operation, estimated at six months, or until the
floods have receded following the end of the rainy season.
The
humanitarian community will also distribute tents and basic household items such
as blankets, sleeping mats, jerry cans and kitchen-sets to those deemed the most
vulnerable, some 18,000 people who have lost their homes.
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
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