Gambia: 50,000 people urgently need food, Action Aid appeals
The Gambian government’s recent appeal for food aid due to serious crops failure is starting to get some attention, as thousands of people are said to be in urgent need of food and safe drinking water.
Action Aid International and its country office in The Gambia have launched an international donor appeal for £3 million pounds for short-term intervention.
In an interview with West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR) on Friday, Action Aid International’s country Director in Gambia, Kujejatou Manneh said her aid agency was “looking at the possibilities of short term, medium term and long term support to respond to the food crisis.”
President Yahya Jammeh’s government recently said drought has led to poor harvest, with the country experiencing 70% crops failure. His cabinet had been summoned to an emergency session relative to the food crisis.
The Action Aid country Director told WADR that her group was urgently responding to the need for food and drinking water by some 50,000 people in the rural area in the Gambia.
The effects of the drought in the Sahel region have been made even worse by hike in food prices, which are 25% higher than last year’s, the aid agency said.
“The Gambia is predominantly an agricultural society. With widespread crop failure and food price hike, the situation will become extremely serious, unless emergency measures are put in place immediately,” Kujejatou pointed out.
WADR’s Frank Sainworla speaks with the Action Aid International Gambia country Director on plight of locals needing emergency assistance to ease the ongoing food crisis.
Click audio below to listen
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