After an initial push to provide food for people affected by drought and heavy flooding in northern Ghana, donor attention on the country is waning even though food shortages persist meaning the situation could get much worse, the Ghanaian government and aid agencies warn.
“Because of the preceding drought and the end of the planting season, there is an inevitable situation of food insecurity, which is likely to last until the next harvest,” the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) wrote in a 9 October appeal.
“It’s something that is going to be an ongoing problem… The food supply has to be constant until the region is able to regenerate itself,” said Benonita Bismarck, head of operations of the Ghana Red Cross Society.
The three northern regions of Ghana – Upper East, Upper West and Northern Region – are the poorest parts of the West African country and were hard hit by drought earlier this year. When the rains finally came in August and September, they were so strong that homes, crops and livestock were washed away.
The government estimates floods affected 332,600 people.
According to the IFRC, up to 50 percent of staple crops in flood-affected areas have been destroyed or are rotting in the fields. While communities would normally have some ability to cope, the earlier drought means they do not have enough food reserves.
Source: GhanaWeb
