RR Phantom
Location : Wasted Space Job/hobbies : Cayman Islands Actuary
| Subject: Oxfam warns of West Africa drought 'catastrophe' Thu Mar 08, 2012 10:17 pm | |
| Oxfam says urgent action is needed to stop drought in the Sahel region of West Africa turning into a humanitarian disaster affecting 13 million people.
The aid agency says the international community waited too long to respond to famine in East Africa last year.
The agency has launched a £23m ($36m) emergency appeal to help reach more than a million of the most vulnerable.
A BBC correspondent says refugees fleeing fighting in northern Mali are adding to the problem.
Launching its appeal, Oxfam said that malnutrition rates across Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and northern Senegal are hovering between 10% and 15%, and in some areas have risen beyond the emergency threshold level of 15%.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17308913 |
|