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Scotland provides emergency aid for Malawian flood victims |
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Tuesday, 05 February 2008 |
The Malawi Millennium Project, Glasgow's Lord Provost and the Scottish Government have joined forces to provide £10,000 of emergency relief to people affected by severe flooding in Malawi.
At least six people died and more than 50,000 people have been
displaced by raging floods in the Chikwawa district in the southern
region of the country. The cash is already being used to distribute
vital supplies of blankets, plastic for temporary housing, mosquito
nets, soap, maize and medicines.
Efforts are being overseen by Dr Tracy Morse, project manager of the
University of Strathclyde's Chikwawa Health Initiative. She has
reported that diarrhoea and malaria rates are high and large tracts of
crop fields have been destroyed, but the water is now slowly subsiding.
Dr Peter West, chairman of the Scotland-Malawi Partnership and
Secretary to the University of Strathclyde, said: "The money coming
from Scotland is already helping people in some of the worst affected
areas with supplies of medicines, blankets and mosquito nets.
"We have been overwhelmed by the speed of the response from the
Scottish Government and Linda Fabiani, Minister for Europe, External
Affairs and Culture, and Glasgow's Lord Provost, Bob Winter. The funds
are literally helping to save lives in one of the world's ten poorest
countries."
Minister for External Affairs Linda Fabiani said: "Scotland has a very
special relationship with Malawi and we felt compelled to contribute
towards efforts to relieve the flood situation in Chikwawa which has
been hit the hardest.
"Along with contributions from both the University of Strathclyde and
the Lord Provost of Glasgow, I am sure this support will help those in
need in this time of crisis. The Scottish Government is committed to
strengthening links between our two countries and I will be personally
reinforcing this when I travel to Malawi next week."
Lord Provost Bob Winter said: "Glasgow is committed to helping
Malawians to improve their daily lives in the long term but also
appreciates that emergencies of this nature require a rapid response.
"We are happy that we can do something to help alleviate some of the suffering caused by flooding."
The Scottish Government has provided £5,000 of funding, while the
Malawi Millennium Project and the Lord Provost have each provided
£2,500. The funding is particularly vital for the area as high levels
of poverty mean around four in 10 children die before they reach the
age of five, and one in six mothers die in childbirth.
The Malawi Millennium Project is a collaborative venture between the
University of Strathclyde and the University of Malawi, with which
Strathclyde has had academic links since the early 1990s.
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