Bagre Dam Spillage: World Vision To Prevent Outbreak Of Diseases

Global charity organisation, World Vision International Ghana, has moved to prevent an outbreak of water borne diseases in northern Ghana, following torrential floods that killed at least thirty-five people and destroyed millions of properties including farmlands and live stocks.

The floods last two months, caused by the opening of a popular dam in neighbouring Burkina Faso and heavy rains, run into 654 communities along the White Volta river in northern Ghana, displacing some 52,000 people and destroying an estimated 100,000 hectares of farmlands, according to an assessment report conducted by the Disaster Management Organisation, UN and several development partners including World Vision.

The assessment also disturbingly disclosed the disaster completely destroyed some 3,500 homes and more than 3,000 water sources believed to have been contaminated across the Northern, Upper East and West regions.

Out of the nearly 4.5 million people living in the north, less than 20% have access to clean drinking water sources and the remaining rely on open sources of water for survival.  More than half of the population still cannot afford to build decent homes, majority still practise open defecation, and depend of subsistence farming without any livelihood options.

World Vision International Ghana has therefore, identified four areas of concern in the disaster aftermath – Safe Water, Sanitation, Shelter and Food, and called for immediate efforts to prevent an outbreak of fresh disaster.

The organisation has taken further steps into the communities to provide relief items for the victims, a gesture in response to calls by Ghana government for organisations to assist the flood victims whose sources of potable water were contaminated, posing a health risk and challenges to the people.

Water, Sanitation and Health (WASH), items which included one thousand pieces of 30 water storage containers, 1,000 pieces of 20 buckets for water purification, 1,000 pieces of sieving mesh, 2,251 pieces of laundry and bathing cake soaps and 331,700 pieces of water purifiers were provided by the World Vision International Ghana.

The organisation started the distribution of the items on Tuesday, starting from some hard hit communities in Savelugu and Nanton districts of the Northern region.

Speaking at a presentation gathering in the Nanton district, Samuel Gmalu, the Manager in charge of Humanitarian, Emergency Affairs and Security Management, said the donation was to ensure that victims whose sources of water were contaminated by the spillage of the dam, have access to clean and safe water.  The manager said the intervention was to prevent the outbreak of water borne diseases.

“We realised that this flood that affected the areas, some of the boreholes were submerged and the people were drinking from open source, and if we don’t take care, it will mean that most of the children would soon be having diarrhoea or other related diseases,” Gmalu explained to the locals.

The Nanton District Coordinating Director, Zakaria Wumbei thanked World Vision International Ghana and expressed appreciations for the gestures, on behalf of the locals.

“We are privileged to be among the lucky ones in this part of the region to be assisted by World Vision International, to help us leave a healthy life by assisting us with these items.

“The officers here will teach our mothers and fathers how to treat water from other sources such that we can avoid guinea worm.  We are here to tell you that World Vision is here to support us,” Zakaria told the poor victims.

World Vision International Ghana has also targeted to renovate some 400 more boreholes in Upper East and Northern Regions that were ruined by flood waters. The organisation has also begun collecting samples of borehole water suspected to have been contaminated for a laboratory test to ensure its safety for consumption.

The spillage of the Bagre dam has become an annual measure done by authorities of neighbouring Burkina Faso. The opening is always done yearly, during rainy seasons, when the dam could no longer contain water beyond its 235m depth.

In 1999, when the first spillage was done, more than 9,000 completely lost their homes and cholera outbreak killed hundreds and since then.

World Vision International Ghana’s vigorous intervention is to avoid the repeat of the 1991 tragedy. The organisation continued the distribution to the Upper East and will round up in the West region.

The team in the Upper East region first landed into a farming community of Kologu, where they handed over the relief packages to the victims who gathered at the local chief palace.

The Northern Region’s Operations Manager of World Vision International Ghana, Timothy Akanpabadai, led the organisation to demonstrate a water purification procedures to the people at the Kasena- Nankana village. He also supervised the sharing of the packages to the locals.

After explaining the mission of the organisations to the people, he advised them to put the items to good use and also take personal hygiene seriously.

After nearly two months since the disaster struck, a large number of the victims are still leaving with families and in public buildings including schools and worship centres.  The government in responding to the situation, gave some packages to the victims but took back the items after some were found to be expired.

Source: starrfmonline