So far the only response to my email (I sent another one to the Prime Minister) was a brief email yesterday from the office of the Prime Minister telling me that “the issue falls under the portfolio of the Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation” and forwarding my message to her.
I haven’t heard a response from her, but today the Accra Mail reported that CIDA is providing $645 000 in emergency funds, and that Canada is committed to further assistance through the UN appeal and through the long term programs CIDA has in the North. According to the CIDA website, this is part of a larger $300 million contribution to humanitarian relief in all of the countries affected.
I’ll continue to update the news, and when I get to Ghana I’ll report on the situation there. I’ve set up another page on the site (linked in the sidebar) that will collect all of the information on the flood that I post.
Filed under: Flood
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19 September 2007, 10:55
So, turning my attention to the many articles in my Ghanaian newsfeed today, I learned about the terrible flooding that has been going on there. The flooding is affecting 17 countries in Africa, but Ghana is the hardest hit. Apparently the disaster has been receiving very little international attention.
I wrote to my MP Andrew Telegdi to find out what Canada is contributing to the relief effort. Here is the email:
I am writing to inquire what form of aid Canada is pledging for the flooding in Africa. I have linked three news articles which are a cause of great concern to me. They suggest that Ghana is particularly hard-hit by the recent flooding. In particular, you will note the the areas hardest hit in Ghana provide 45% of the country’s domestic food supply, meaning that there is both an immediate and long-term crisis.
Although the death toll is currently low for an international disaster, the affected areas are very poor, and I believe that a disaster of this scale will have a high human cost over the long run in disease and starvation. If Canada has not yet responded to this crisis, I urge you to look into it and see what we might be able to offer.
I’ll update the answer here. In the meantime, here are the articles I mentioned in the email:
Filed under: Ghana Flood
