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 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| African floods prompt aid appeal | African floods prompt aid appeal |
| (about 2 hours 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 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. | |
| 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, BBC West Africa correspondent Will Ross reports. | |
| Difficult access | Difficult access |
| The Ghanaian government and humanitarian agencies have just ended a visit to the worst-hit areas. | |
| 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 |