Leadership (Abuja)
Michael Dibie
20 August 2008
Flood waters across West Africa are intensifying health risks for millions of people, adding to the food price crisis. And International aid is needed as heavy rains are forecast to last until September, could exacerbate health threats for conditions including malaria, diarrhea and other potentially fatal communicable diseases.
"West Africa's annual floods bring with them not only the threat of vector-borne and communicable diseases, but it further endangers the lives of people already malnourished by the food price crisis," said Dr Eric Laroche, Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Health Action in Crises Cluster.
Benin, Togo , Niger , Mali , Mauritania and Burkina Faso need urgent assistance.
Flooding has caused widespread damage to bridges, roads, railway lines and other infrastructure vital for delivering health services and humanitarian supplies.
Seasonal rains have also caused damages in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea-Bissau .
WHO is responding by providing essential medicines, assessing the health status of the vulnerable populations, particularly children, women and the elderly, and helping raise badly needed humanitarian funding.
Some US$ 418 million was requested for West Africa in 2008's revised Consolidated Appeal for the region, of which US$ 76 million was needed for emergency health care.
To date, only 22% of the health funding needs have been met.
Endemic and epidemic communicable diseases are common in West Africa , with malaria being the main cause of illness and death in the region.
Meningitis, cholera and yellow fever also claim scores of lives annually and cause great human suffering, which is expected to intensify due to the extra strains placed by the floods on the health sector.
An estimated 5 million people also live with HIV/AIDS in the region, whose health care is further compromised by the flooding.
The destruction of agricultural lands and loss of crops aggravate the food crisis in the region. Several West African countries are among the 21 worldwide identified by WHO as being most at risk from the food crisis.
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