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Is the world experiencing more flooding?
What in the World
May 14, 2024

Several nations have suffered flooding in just the last few months. Brazil, Kenya, Indonesia and China are just some of those that have been hit. Many people have died and thousands have been forced to move away from their homes.

Floods are common and can happen at any time during the year. However, are we seeing more than usual these days? And how much impact is the El Nino weather system having? BBC Climate Reporter Georgina Rannard explains what’s been happening and why.

We hear from listener Leandro who sent us a voice message from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, where more than half a million people have been displaced from their homes.

And eight months on from floods which hit Eastern Libya, the nation is continuing to rebuild from its catastrophic event. The BBC’s Amira Fathalla describes what it’s like on the ground today.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Email: [email protected] Presenter: Beverly Ochieng Producers: Josh Jenkins and Adam Chowdhury Editor: Simon Peeks

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USAID: Can the world live without it?

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is under fire. It is the world’s biggest donor and spends billions of dollars a year, funding programmes around the world, like fighting malaria in Bangladesh, clearing unexploded landmines in Cambodia and Laos and providing medical supplies in Sudan.

But President Trump says it is run by “radical lunatics” and he and billionaire Elon Musk, who’s got the job of trying to slash American government spending, want to shut it down. They have paused almost all international spending for 90 days and issued “stop work” orders to their staff. BBC journalist Nathalia Jimenez tells us what USAID does - and why the Trump administration wants to close it.

A large proportion of USAID funding goes towards healthcare and HIV medication in sub-Saharan Africa. Makuochi Okafor, the BBC’s Africa Health correspondent tells us what impact closing USAID could have in this region.

Anselm Gibbs, a BBC reporter based in Trinidad and Tobago, tells us about programmes USAID funds in the Caribbean. And Hilde Deman from Search for Common Ground, an international NGO that uses USAID funding in countries affected by violent conflict, talks about the impact to their work in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: William Lee Adams Producers: Benita Barden and Julia Ross-Roy Editor: Rosanna La Falce


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Is the world experiencing more flooding?

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