West Africa - Floods Fact Sheet #1, Fiscal Year (FY) 2009

BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)

BACKGROUND AND KEY DEVELOPMENTS

- Heavy seasonal rains and associated flooding have killed more than 180 people and affected more than 600,000 others in West Africa since June 2009, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). On September 15, the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) reported that no major communicable disease outbreaks have been recorded in affected countries, but noted increases in malaria and diarrheal disease cases.

- On September 4, USAID/OFDA deployed a senior program officer to Burkina Faso to assess humanitarian needs and monitor relief efforts. USAID/OFDA is providing more than $1.5 million to Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) for interventions in agriculture and food security, economic recovery and market systems, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), benefiting approximately 125,000 flood-affected individuals.

- From September 22 to 24, representatives from USAID/OFDA and the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) conducted an assessment of flood-affected populations in the city of Agadez, Niger. The assessment team met with U.N. agencies, local Government of Niger (GoN) officials, and non-governmental organization (NGO) staff and visited several relief commodities distribution sites, as well as temporary sites hosting displaced persons.

- USAID's Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) has granted approval for partners CRS and Africare to direct nearly 743 metric tons (MT) of current USAID/FFP-funded food assistance in Burkina Faso, valued at more than $750,000, to meet emergency needs of affected populations over a one-month period. USAID/FFP has also granted approval for Africare to redirect 28 MT of food assistance, valued at nearly $38,000, for flood-affected populations in Niger.