UN agencies rush aid to flood-stricken region of Sierra Leone

United Nations agencies are providing emergency aid in Sierra Leone amid concern over the possible outbreak of waterborne diseases, especially cholera, after heavy flooding destroyed many homes and affected thousands of villagers, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today.

Following a Government request, an inter-agency mission of UN agencies, government authorities and non-government organizations (NGOs) in the six most affected chiefdoms in Pujehun district, 300 kilometres south of Freetown, the capital, has identified five priority needs: food, water and sanitation, non-food items, health, and shelter.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN World Health Organization (WHO) have already supplied water containers, chlorine, washing soap, and essential drugs, while the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is making arrangements to provide food, OCHA said.

A UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) helicopter carried out an in-depth aerial survey at the weekend to further assess the damage in the Pujehun district, where nine out of 12 chiefdoms were inundated by rising water levels of the Wanje and Moa Rivers.

It is difficult to give the exact estimates of the people affected since many villages continue to remain inaccessible as roads and bridges have been swept away, OCHA said. Wells have also been wiped out giving rise to concerns over the possible spread of waterborne diseases, it added.