This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/7005969.stm
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| African floods prompt aid appeal | African floods prompt aid appeal |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Aid agencies have started appealing for funds to assist people hit by the floods in several African countries. | Aid agencies have started appealing for funds to assist people hit by the floods in several African countries. |
| The United Nations says 1.5 million people are affected by the floods which have hit a swathe of countries from the east to the west of the continent. | The United Nations says 1.5 million people are affected by the floods which have hit a swathe of countries from the east to the west of the continent. |
| The World Food Programme (WFP) has launched a $60m appeal for food aid to Uganda alone. | |
| The floods are said to be the worst in many countries for decades, with 250 killed and more than 600,000 displaced. | The floods are said to be the worst in many countries for decades, with 250 killed and more than 600,000 displaced. |
| One area particularly badly affected is northern Ghana, where the white Volta River burst its banks following days of torrential rain and large areas of farmland were flooded, BBC West Africa correspondent Will Ross reports. | One area particularly badly affected is northern Ghana, where the white Volta River burst its banks following days of torrential rain and large areas of farmland were flooded, BBC West Africa correspondent Will Ross reports. |
| See map of the worst-affected nations | See map of the worst-affected nations |
| Farmers were just about to harvest their maize, but with the annual crop destroyed in some parts of northern Ghana, there will be a need for food aid, he says. | Farmers were just about to harvest their maize, but with the annual crop destroyed in some parts of northern Ghana, there will be a need for food aid, he says. |
| Difficult access | Difficult access |
| The Ghanaian government and humanitarian agencies have just ended a visit to the worst-hit areas, our correspondent adds. | The Ghanaian government and humanitarian agencies have just ended a visit to the worst-hit areas, our correspondent adds. |
| Some African countries have endured months of flooding | Some African countries have endured months of flooding |
| But some villages remain cut off, only accessible by canoe - and all this just weeks after the same subsistence farmers were suffering from drought. | But some villages remain cut off, only accessible by canoe - and all this just weeks after the same subsistence farmers were suffering from drought. |
| In Uganda, the first priority is getting food to people whose crops have been destroyed by the flooding, the BBC's Sarah Grainger in Kampala says. | In Uganda, the first priority is getting food to people whose crops have been destroyed by the flooding, the BBC's Sarah Grainger in Kampala says. |
| Already, the UN has diverted one helicopter from neighbouring Sudan's Darfur region and the WFP is requesting that two more be made available for the relief effort. | Already, the UN has diverted one helicopter from neighbouring Sudan's Darfur region and the WFP is requesting that two more be made available for the relief effort. |
| People who have lost their homes to the floods also need tarpaulins and tents and aid agencies are stressing that medical supplies will be important as the threat of water-borne diseases like cholera increases, she says. | People who have lost their homes to the floods also need tarpaulins and tents and aid agencies are stressing that medical supplies will be important as the threat of water-borne diseases like cholera increases, she says. |
| Return | Return |