UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- UN humanitarian agencies are expanding their relief efforts across West Africa, where heavy downpours have displaced hundreds of thousands of people in seven countries and sparked worries over a possible outbreaks of infectious diseases.

    According to a report of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN agencies are working in Togo, Ghana, Niger, Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal amid concerns that heavy rains may continue through this month.

    Six camps for people displaced by flooding have been set up around Lome, capital city of Togo, OCHA said.

    The camps house around 4,000 people, including 1,200 children. More than 1,500 others, including 200 children under the age of five, have been affected by heavy rainfalls in the central region of Sokode.

    The flood has caused major infrastructural damages across Togo, including 11 bridges, and a dramatic hike in the price of basic foodstuff.

    The devastation in Togo also has a humanitarian impact on people of landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which rely on the port of Lome for the supply of many goods.

    The UN Development Program is planning to build a temporary bridge linking the northern and southern parts of Togo.

    Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has been supplying clean water, mosquito nets, drugs, vaccinations and sanitation equipment, to some 200,000 displaced people.

    The campaign is aimed at reducing the intensified threat of malaria, diarrhea diseases and respiratory infections, especially for children.