Guinea: UN humanitarian fund allocates $1 million in flood relief projects

The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated just over $1 million in aid to health, water purification and food security projects in Guinea, where hundreds of thousands of households are trying to recover from the effects of widespread flooding and avoid deadly cholera epidemics.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced the grant today in response to the floods, part of wider inundations that have swept across most of West Africa since July.

More than $400,000 has been allocated to the World Health Organization (WHO) to fund efforts to control potential outbreaks of cholera. The programme will strengthen the capacity of local health workers, promote public awareness about health and hygiene and include follow-up monitoring of people affected, OCHA said. Nearly 6,000 people have been infected.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will receive almost $300,000 to help an estimated 975,000 households in two of Guinea’s four regions undertake a series of measures to prevent cholera from spreading, such as by systematically disinfecting homes and wells, treating drinking water and encouraging good hygiene practices.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will use over $360,000 to provide seeds for a variety of crops, such as tomatoes, peppers and aubergines, and agricultural equipment, including watering cans and hoes, to some 3,200 households.

In all three cases the UN agencies will be working with Guinean Government ministries and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

CERF was approved by the General Assembly in December 2005, and was created to speed up relief operations for emergencies, make funds available quickly after a disaster and finance under-funded emergencies. Its funds are also made available to address the existing imbalance in global aid distribution which results in millions of people in so-called neglected or forgotten crises remaining in need.