RIYADH, 25 July — A Saudi Arabian cargo plane carrying relief materials including 44 tons of foodstuffs took off from the King Khaled International Airport to the flood-ravaged Ghana yesterday. Another Saudi relief plane will leave for Accra today. The relief supplies were ordered by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd on Saturday.
“I thank King Fahd and the people of Saudi Arabia for sending relief to Ghana, where at least 13 people have died and more than 5,000 have been left homeless by floods,” said Muhammad Nurudeen Ismaile, head of chancery at the Ghanaian Embassy, yesterday. He said Ghana, hit by heavy rains and flash floods in late June, was expecting another spell of flooding soon.
The diplomat said he would be seeking assistance from other Saudi aid organizations including the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) for reconstruction of bridges, roads, electricity networks and several villages wiped off by floodwaters. A number of towns and villages including Atkwueteman, Madina, Alajo, Maamobi, East Legon, Abeka, Ahaiman and Lashibi were inundated by floodwaters.
The Ghanaian government, he said, had succeeded in containing outbreak of diseases following the floods. The Ghana Meteorological Services Department measured 91.4 mm of rainfall on June 27 alone, said Ismaile.
He said SFD was currently implementing a health care project in the country. The Saudi aid organization had extended assistance to Ghana in the past as well. UN aid agencies have also undertaken relief operations in the country. Kuwait sent a planeload of relief materials to Accra last week.
The Saudi Embassy in Accra was coordinating with the Ghana Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help and monitor the situation in the country. “We will be seeking more help from the Gulf governments and aid organizations to deliver relief materials to remote areas,” said Ismaile.
The floods will eventually affect the economy of Ghana, primarily an agricultural country which produces cocoa, nuts, bananas, coffee, maize, rubber and timber. Some 30 percent of the country’s 19 million population are Muslim.
