Accra, September 20, 2007--CARE is committing $50,000 from its Emergency Response Fund to provide immediate emergency relief for people displaced by floods in northern Ghana. The floods, the most serious to hit Ghana in nearly three decades, have devastated farms and affected tens of thousands of people. To make matters worse, the floods have come after a drought that lasted until mid-July and stretched the ability of many people to cope economically.
"The people who have been most acutely affected by the floods and the loss of land are from Ghana's poorest farm families," says Marcy Vigoda, CARE's Country Director in Ghana. "Although Ghana has made impressive progress, poverty levels in northern Ghana remain extremely high. It's critical to help these people to recover their livelihoods." Most of CARE's contribution will be used to address immediate needs in the districts of Ghana's Upper East and Northern Regions.
CARE is also seeking funds to help in agricultural recovery, and is building on its ongoing work in 140 northern communities.
CARE, which has an office in Tamale, recently participated in a multi-agency government assessment.
For media information, contact:
Ken Walker: tel: +27 11 234 1221, or +27 82 336 8312 (cell); walker@caresa.co.za
or William Dowell tel: +41 79 590 3047; dowell@careinternational.org
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
