Children in Benin use a boat to navigate through their village, which was flooded in the recent heavy rains that have flooded half of the country. Benin’s worst floods since 1963 overlooked by international community - cholera cases continue to rise.
For the past five weeks, more than half of Benin has been severely affected by floods due to an unusually heavy rainy season.
Twice the amount of rain normally expected has lashed the country. Approximately 680,000 have been affected. And yet this tragic situation hasn’t attracted the attention of the international community, which remains silent on the situation in Benin.
Donate to our Benin Floods Appeal.
Fifty-one out of 77 regions in the country are affected. Even the floods of 1963, previously the worst disaster that Benin has ever known, did not cause as much destruction as this year’s floods.
“All the elders agree they have never seen such flooding,” said Rotimy Djossaya, Country Director of CARE Benin. “Yet the information has not resonated in the international community. It seems that despite the extraordinary devastation caused by this year’s floods, people think it is simply the annual flooding season.”
Zones that were previously not considered vulnerable to flooding have been devastated, like the village of Kopto (in the centre of the country), which was completely wiped. In villages along rivers and lakes, thousands of people continue to live in huts built of fragile material, submerged for weeks under up to two metres of water.
Sanitation is a major concern, and the disturbing number of cholera cases continue to rise. Homeless people have taken refuge in health centres, paralyzing access to medical care and increasing a potential outbreak of water-borne disease. Latrines are flooded, sending human waste into water used for drinking, cooking and bathing, and people have little or no access to safe drinking water. About 800 cases of cholera have been reported to date, including 51 in Cotonou, and the number is rising daily.
Benin ranks as one of the poorest countries in the world, making access to health care a luxury. Households that have lost all their assets in the floods have also lost the ability to earn an income. As a result, they can’t afford to pay for formal health care, and women self-medicate to treat diarrhoea and fever in their children, and they use credit to pay for the medicines.
“The rainy season continues. We can’t wait for the situation to further deteriorate before we finally open our eyes,” said Djossaya.
Some donors, such as the UK’s Department For International Development, were quick to offer support, but the majority have yet to react to the gravity of the situation.
CARE is working in Aguégué, Dangbo, Adjohoun, Bonou, Ouinhi and Zangnanado to reduce the risk of water-borne diseases and to minimise the impact of a potential outbreak. CARE is distributing food, water purification tablets, soap, and mosquito nets, and is holding hygiene education sessions for more than 10,000 people. CARE is also arranging for medical care for 10,000 children under five and 2,000 pregnant women affected by malaria. CARE has increased its initial appeal to US$7 million (£4.66m) to reach 100,000 people with food, water purification tablets, shelter materials and other emergency supplies.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Loetitia Raymond (Benin):
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
;
Mobile: +229 98122379, +33 678309936
Kathryn Richards in London,
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
,
+44(0)207 934 9347 or 07824563810
Notes to editors:
No entrepreneurs living in Benin featured on the lendwithcare.org website have been severely affected by the flooding, but CARE continues to monitor their situation.
