African Health supports flood victims

A team from African Health Now (AHN), a non-profit organization, which promotes sustainable primary health care among women, children and families in Sub-Saharan African, on Saturday, toured some flood affected areas in Accra, in the June 3^rd flooding of some suburbs of Accra, to commiserate and support the victims.

The team lead by Catherine Ekar, Treasurer of the AHN, first stopped at Ayidiki near Alajo, which was totally submerged under the flood water that overflowed the banks of the Alajo main drain. The team distributed over 400 bags of sachet water and toiletries to the victims to help alleviate their plight.  

The over a thousand perplexed victims, who received the support, were still counting their loss after the floods. They also narrated how the flood water, which they least expected visited them on that fateful Wednesday.

Among items destroyed were mostly of their personal effects, educational materials, electrical gadgets and others running into several millions of cedis.

Ms. Ekar, who together with the team interacted and assessed the extent of damage caused by the floods to the households, stated that her organisation will look for more assistance to support them.

Overwhelm by the loss of lives, properties and valuables, Catherine stressed the need for other organization to join the relief efforts, observing that government alone cannot attend to all the needs of the victims.   

With the recession of the flood-water 10-days after the floods, the victims lamented about the extent of destruction it caused their households, businesses and their general welfare. And although some of them are picking up the pieces to rebuild, in anticipation of help from the authorities and other benevolent organization, it is clear that they are in dire need of a lifeline.

For instance, Madam Vida Owusu who escaped from her collapsed building shared her ordeal on having to sleep on the bare-cold floor because she lost her bed and virtually all belongings. 

It was clear from the tour of her room that apart from a table, cabinet, chairs and some few utensils, Madam Owusu’s room was virtually empty.

Another victim, Alice Afari, who lives in the neigbourhood of the Madam Owusu, described how her room was also emptied by the floods.                 

With hundreds of households affected in the area, the thousands of victims, who were directly and indirectly affected, are still counting their lost and noted with concern that they were yet to receive support from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and thus thanked AHN for their efforts to even visit them.

The team also made brief stops at Adawna area and commiserated with the victims there to.

Although NADMO is reported doing its bid to attend to the victims, there are indication more efforts are needed to salvage the situation. Already, health experts have warned that there could an imminent outbreak of cholera and other disease in the flood affected areas if nothing was done to help the victims.