Responding to Massive Floods in La Mojana, Colombia
ACF Distributes 720 Tons of Food in Collaboration with the World Food Program
Madrid, Spain —
Action Against Hunger / Action Contre la Faim (ACF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are working to distribute food to inhabitants of La Mojana, one of the most seriously affected regions in last year’s floods, and where 7 out of 10 households live below the poverty line. ACF’s team will provide rice, sugar, oil and vegetables to more than 40,000 people who have lost their harvests and reserves after the heavy rains. ACF had already distributed food items after the region experienced its strongest seasonal rainfall in 11 years last July. This represents an urgent measure to assist the thousands of affected who, six months after the floods, are still dependent on external help in order to survive.
Senior External Relations Officer, ACF-USA
Contact James Phelan
Direct: 212-967-7800 x108
Cell: 646-265-7796
Prensa y Comunicación Institucional, ACF-Spain
amahiques@achesp.org
Direct: +34 91 391 53 06
February 5, 2008
Madrid, Spain —
Action Against Hunger / Action Contre la Faim (ACF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are working to distribute food to inhabitants of La Mojana, one of the most seriously affected regions in last year’s floods, and where 7 out of 10 households live below the poverty line. ACF’s team will provide rice, sugar, oil and vegetables to more than 40,000 people who have lost their harvests and reserves after the heavy rains. ACF had already distributed food items after the region experienced its strongest seasonal rainfall in 11 years last July. This represents an urgent measure to assist the thousands of affected who, six months after the floods, are still dependent on external help in order to survive.
“The population did not have time to recover from the last flood before the second season of even more intense rains arrived,” explains Alejandro Zurita, ACF’s Country Director in Colombia. It has been six months without rest for the inhabitants of Córdoba and La Mojana. The rains have left entire villages flooded, crops submerged and basic infrastructure destroyed. The overflowing of the Cauca river, one of the most plentiful in the country, has further aggravated the situation.
“The intensity of the rains has provoked an emergency situation in which it is essential to work rapidly. ACF is intervening in a close partnership with the United Nations and the National Authority for the Prevention and Attention of Disasters,” adds Jorge Salamanca, Action Against Hunger’s desk officer for Latin America.
ACF has been active in Colombia since 1998, supporting nutrition, water and sanitation, health, and food security programs for those affected by the conflict. The ACF International works more than 40 countries and helps some 5 million people each year.
About Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger / Action Contre la Faim (ACF), an international relief and development organization committed to saving the lives of malnourished children and families, provides sustainable access to safe water and long-term solutions to hunger. For nearly three decades, ACF has pursued its vision of a world without hunger by combating hunger in emergency situations of conflict, natural disaster, and chronic food insecurity.Press Contact
Action Against Hunger - USA
James L. PhelanSenior External Relations Officer, ACF-USA
Contact James Phelan
Direct: 212-967-7800 x108
Cell: 646-265-7796
Action Against Hunger - Spain
Alejandra Mahiques NuñezPrensa y Comunicación Institucional, ACF-Spain
amahiques@achesp.org
Direct: +34 91 391 53 06
