Floods devastate West Africa
A man carries a child as he wades through flood waters Lagos, Nigeria. Floods in West Africa have forced thousands of families from their homes.
PHOTO: REUTERS/George Esiri (courtesy of www.alertnet.org)
September 13, 2007
Heavy torrential rain and floods threaten food supplies in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo and Mali
Torrential rains and flooding in 12 countries in West Africa have destroyed thousands of homes, crops, granaries, livestock and poultry, jeopardizing food supplies and increasing the risk of malaria and disease from contaminated water. In addition to reports of fatalities, hundreds of thousands of people are homeless.
Among the 12 countries, three (Benin, Ghana and Togo) have reported that Plan program areas have been affected by floods and have made pleas for immediate emergency assistance.
Donate now to Plan's Disaster Relief & Recovery fund. Your support helps provide children, families and communities with immediate relief during times of disaster, as well as with long-term interventions needed to rebuild lives.
What is Plan doing?
Plan staff members are attempting to visit as many villages as possible, but access is difficult as roads are flooded and telephone lines are damaged. Right now, we're focusing on meeting the immediate needs of children and their families:
Donate now to Plan's Disaster Relief & Recovery fund. Your support helps provide children, families and communities with immediate relief during times of disaster, as well as with long-term interventions needed to rebuild lives.
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Among the 12 countries, three (Benin, Ghana and Togo) have reported that Plan program areas have been affected by floods and have made pleas for immediate emergency assistance.
Donate now to Plan's Disaster Relief & Recovery fund. Your support helps provide children, families and communities with immediate relief during times of disaster, as well as with long-term interventions needed to rebuild lives.
What is Plan doing?
Plan staff members are attempting to visit as many villages as possible, but access is difficult as roads are flooded and telephone lines are damaged. Right now, we're focusing on meeting the immediate needs of children and their families:
- Helping people to leave homes that are in danger of total collapse
- Raising awareness of the risk of using water from contaminated sources
- Encouraging people to use treated bed nets as protection against malaria-carrying mosquitos
- Supplying local health centers with essential drugs and treated bed nets
- Providing food
- Repairing schools so children can return to school
Donate now to Plan's Disaster Relief & Recovery fund. Your support helps provide children, families and communities with immediate relief during times of disaster, as well as with long-term interventions needed to rebuild lives.
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