DOBA flood victims cry for help
By Eunice Menka(AMMREN Ghana )

It was one those days when the wind had gone missing leaving behind an oppressive heat. But 420 people, mostly women carrying babies, had braved the energy sapping heat and waited for hours at the Doba Primary LA School, located at the Kassena Nankana district of the Upper East Region.

The Doba people, an already deprived community, are recovering from the recent floods which hit the northern parts of the country. They had congregated to receive a few grains of corn to keep body and soul together as they look into the bleak future without nothing.

The people told members of the African Media and Malaria Research Network that they had lost homes, cattle and farmlands including sleeping mats to the floods.

The journalists were in the Upper East and Northern Regions to assess the health status of the population, with particular attention to malaria, following the floods which hit the northern parts of the country.

The Malaria Clinical Trials Alliance, (MCTA) an African-led institution established to build capacity in the fight against malaria sponsored the trip.

An aspiring Member of Parliament, Mr Mark Woyongo, had donated five bags of maize to the community. This was the reason for their presence the Doba Primary School that hot afternoon.

But majority of the people went back that afternoon with empty bags disappointed, as the distribution could not go round.

Hunger was however not the only problem they had to contend with. The district is known for its all year round malaria transmission. This is further compounded by the presence of the Tono Irrigation dam located in the district, which serves as a breeding site for mosquitoes.

“We are hungry. We are sick and we have lost everything to the floods. The relief items are not getting down to us,” Mary Apriko, a member of the community, told AMMREN members.

She said most of the children were running high temperatures. The situation has been made worse by the collapse of the Community Based Health Planning and Services. (CHPS)

The CHPS building located and spread across the communities serves as a first point for the provision of health services for the people but the building built with mud was washed away in the floods.

Mr Kofi Kolnlan, Administrator of the Navrongo War Memorial Hospital, said the collapse of the CHPS building had put pressure on the hospital as people from various communities including Doba had to seek treatment at the facility, which is a district hospital.

Malaria is the number one common cause of Out Patients’ Department attendance in the district hospital as well as Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga, a referral facility.

The people of Doba have to deal with both hunger and malaria but

Madam Apriko said they do not have beds or mats to hang their insecticide mosquito treated nets.

It appears the people would have to look into the future without hope unless help comes soon.