Red Cross Brings Aid To 10,000 Victims Of Violence

INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC)

AUSTRALIA OFFICE - REGIONAL DELEGATION IN THE PACIFIC

NEWS RELEASE

26 August 2010

Ghana: Red Cross Brings Aid To 10,000 Victims Of Violence In North Of Country

Abidjan (ICRC) – With support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Ghana Red Cross Society today began distributing food to some 2,000 families – more than 10,000 people in all – affected by armed violence that erupted in Bawku, in the north of the country, in March.

Each family will receive 120 kilograms of maize, 40 kilograms of beans, two kilograms of salt and 40 litres of palm oil.

"Household economies are based on growing crops and on petty trade, but poor security conditions have prevented local people from working their fields," said Christian Bosson, an ICRC economic-security specialist. "The food that we are distributing will enable these families to cope with the situation and to have something to eat for the next few months."

People in the northern part of the country are caught in the tensions between members of the Kusasis and Mamprusis tribes, which regularly flare up into violence. The latest clashes, in March and early April, resulted in a sharp drop in economic and agricultural activity. Those who were already poorest not only saw their incomes slump but also have to cope with a shortage of food.

The ICRC is striving to boost the capacity of the Ghana Red Cross to respond to the needs of the most disadvantaged. It carries out its work in the country through its office in Ouagadougou.

ENDS

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