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GLOBAL: Juggling emergency aid and long-term development
NEW YORK Wednesday, November 19, 2008 (IRIN) - As the global recession bites, analysts are asking if emergencies such as natural disasters will continue to receive funding while development aid, which could save many more lives long-term, such as agricultural investment in Africa, is left to languish.
Source : irinnews.org | 19-Nov-2008 14:50

ERITREA: Use harvest wisely, government urges
NAIROBI Wednesday, November 19, 2008 (IRIN) - Eritreans should use the current harvest efficiently and share crop resources equitably because most parts of the country had received inadequate rains this year, the information ministry said.
Source : irinnews.org | 19-Nov-2008 14:40

SOMALIA: Crops destroyed, families displaced as Shabelle bursts banks
NAIROBI Wednesday, November 19, 2008 (IRIN) - At least 8,000 hectares of farmland in southern Somalia's Lower Shabelle region have been destroyed after the Shabelle river burst its banks, displacing thousands of people, officials said.
Source : irinnews.org | 19-Nov-2008 14:00

ETHIOPIA: Thousands displaced by floods in Somali region
ADDIS ABABA Tuesday, November 18, 2008 (IRIN) - At least 52,000 people have abandoned their homes in Ethiopia's Somali region after the Wade Shabelle and Genale rivers burst their banks following heavy rains.
Source : irinnews.org | 18-Nov-2008 15:20

SOMALIA: Dozens die in diarrhoea outbreak
NAIROBI Tuesday, November 18, 2008 (IRIN) - At least 100 people have died in the past four weeks after an outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) in and around the town of Abudwaaq, in Galgadud region of central Somalia, medical sources said on 18 November.
Source : irinnews.org | 18-Nov-2008 14:30

SOMALIA: ?TFG on brink of collapse?
NAIROBI Monday, November 17, 2008 (IRIN) - The widening split between Somalia's leaders could lead to the total collapse of the transitional federal government, a Nairobi-based regional analyst, who requested anonymity, has warned.
Source : IRIN | 17-Nov-2008 15:30

SOMALIA: Cutting charcoal use in urban Somaliland
HARGEISA Monday, November 17, 2008 (IRIN) - Authorities in Somalia's self-declared republic of Somaliland have embarked on efforts to reduce charcoal use in urban areas to curb deforestation, officials said.
Source : IRIN | 17-Nov-2008 15:15

GLOBAL: Tight belts, tough choices for charities
NEW YORK Thursday, November 13, 2008 (IRIN) - Humanitarian organisations face tough choices if the global financial crisis affects their income, as some analysts predict. Although it is too soon to predict the full impact of the crisis on funding, some agencies told IRIN they were reviewing possible cutbacks and some have started tightening their belts.
Source : irinnews.org | 13-Nov-2008 18:00

GLOBAL: Emergency education gains ground
DAKAR Thursday, November 13, 2008 (IRIN) - Humanitarian policy-makers have endorsed internationally-agreed standards on rebuilding education sectors shattered by crises, in a move experts say shows that education is increasingly being regarded as life-saving.
Source : irinnews.org | 13-Nov-2008 13:00

GLOBAL: G20 "must stand by aid pledges"
NEW YORK Tuesday, November 11, 2008 (IRIN) - Leaders of the top 20 industrial and big emerging-market countries will be asked to reaffirm their commitments to development assistance at the emergency summit on 15 November convened by President George W Bush to address the global financial crisis.
Source : IRIN | 11-Nov-2008 12:50

GLOBAL: Top UN official interviewed on global aid challenges
DUBAI Monday, November 10, 2008 (IRIN) - John Holmes, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, has been in Dubai attending the inaugural Summit on the Global Agenda held by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) in partnership with the government of Dubai (7-9 November).
Source : irinnews.org | 10-Nov-2008 15:30

SOMALIA: Hostility rises in Hargeisa after suicide bombings
HARGEISA Monday, November 10, 2008 (IRIN) - Somalis displaced to the self-styled independent republic of Somaliland from other parts of the Horn of Africa country have faced increasing hostility after three suicide bombing incidents in late October.
Source : irinnews.org | 10-Nov-2008 15:15

SOMALIA: UN and local elders slam aid worker kidnap
NAIROBI Thursday, November 06, 2008 (IRIN) - The UN has called for the immediate release of four aid workers and two pilots who were abducted on 5 November in central Somalia's Galgadud region.
Source : irinnews.org | 06-Nov-2008 14:10

GLOBAL: Falling foul of the Fund
NAIROBI Tuesday, November 04, 2008 (IRIN) - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was formed in 2001 for the purpose of setting up an innovative approach to providing finance to combat the three diseases that kill more than six million people worldwide every year.
Source : IRIN | 04-Nov-2008 22:00

SOMALIA: Floods displace thousands, destroy farmland in Bardera
NAIROBI Tuesday, November 04, 2008 (IRIN) - Flash floods in south-western Gedo region have displaced hundreds of families and inundated hectares of farmland in and around Bardera, the regional capital.
Source : irinnews.org | 04-Nov-2008 13:20

AFRICA: Investment key to doubling rice production
NAIROBI Monday, November 03, 2008 (IRIN) - Greater investment to double rice production in Africa is needed to reduce food insecurity as well as improve livelihoods, specialists urged.
Source : irinnews.org | 03-Nov-2008 17:30

ETHIOPIA: Saving lives with trained birth attendants
DIRE DAWA Monday, November 03, 2008 (IRIN) - Like many teenagers in rural Ethiopia, Shekuria Mume, 19, became pregnant, quit school and got married at 15. The birth of her first baby remains one of her most traumatic experiences, as an untrained traditional birth attendant delivered her.
Source : IRIN | 03-Nov-2008 15:00

SOMALIA: "One message" on FGM/C in Somaliland
HARGEISA Monday, November 03, 2008 (IRIN) - Hawa* is determined her young daughter will not undergo female genital mutilation/cutting, which is widespread in Somalia's self-declared republic of Somaliland.
Source : irinnews.org | 03-Nov-2008 14:00

SOMALIA: Jamal Abdi: "There?s real panic and confusion in town"
HARGEISA Thursday, October 30, 2008 (IRIN) - As security forces investigate the three suicide car-bombs that went off on 29 October targeting a UN compound, the presidential residence and Ethiopian embassy in Hargeisa, capital of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, Jamal Abdi, 22, a local journalist, spoke to IRIN from hospital about the experience:
Source : IRIN | 30-Oct-2008 16:20

GLOBAL: UN chief calls for protection of migrants amid financial crisis
MANILA Wednesday, October 29, 2008 (IRIN) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on countries battered by the financial crisis to keep their doors open to foreign workers, stressing that migration could be used to help lift them out of economic gloom.
Source : irinnews.org | 29-Oct-2008 16:10

SOMALIA: Suicide bombers strike Bossaso, Hargeisa, killing dozens
HARGEISA Wednesday, October 29, 2008 (IRIN) - Up to 40 people are reported to have been killed and many others injured as near-simultaneous explosions hit Hargeisa, capital of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, and the town of Bossaso, commercial capital of the neighbouring region of Puntland.
Source : IRIN | 29-Oct-2008 14:30

SOMALIA: Fleeing from the frying pan into the fire
HARGEISA Wednesday, October 29, 2008 (IRIN) - When he fled Mogadishu, Mohamed Abdi thought life outside the war-torn capital could not be worse than what he was leaving behind. But since arriving in the self-declared republic of Somaliland in September, Abdi has had to reconsider.
Source : irinnews.org | 29-Oct-2008 10:39

SOMALIA: Scores injured as suicide bombers strike Bosasso, Hargeisa
HARGEISA Wednesday, October 29, 2008 (IRIN) - Scores of people were injured this morning as near-simultaneous explosions went off in Hargeisa, the capital of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, and the town of Bossaso, commercial capital of the neighbouring region of Puntland.
Source : irinnews.org | 29-Oct-2008 10:24

ETHIOPIA: Humanitarian aid "needed until June 2009"
NAIROBI Tuesday, October 28, 2008 (IRIN) - The government and Ethiopia?s humanitarian partners should prepare for significant increases in vulnerability until at least June 2009 if rains are poor between October and January, an early warning agency has said.
Source : irinnews.org | 28-Oct-2008 14:10

SOMALIA: Sophie: "I have to continue for the children?s sake"
HARGEISA, SOMALILAND Monday, October 27, 2008 (IRIN) - In September, Sophie (not her real name) fled fighting in Mogadishu to seek shelter in a camp in Hargeisa, capital of the self-declared republic of Somaliland.
Source : irinnews.org | 28-Oct-2008 08:00

GLOBAL: No room for complacency about bird flu - experts
SHARM EL SHEIKH Monday, October 27, 2008 (IRIN) - Some success has been achieved in reducing avian influenza outbreaks in poultry and humans, but the world must still be prepared to tackle an influenza pandemic, experts at an international conference in Egypt have said.
Source : IRIN | 27-Oct-2008 18:10

GLOBAL: Climate change may drown cities
JOHANNESBURG Friday, October 24, 2008 (IRIN) - People in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, prefer to commute in three-wheeled autorickshaws, taxis and buses that run on compressed natural gas (CNG), in their bid to slow down global warming.
Source : irinnews.org | 24-Oct-2008 21:00

GLOBAL: Forced to flee
NAIROBI Thursday, October 23, 2008 (IRIN) - Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are forced to flee their homes to escape war or natural disasters. Displaced within their own country and having lost loved ones, livelihoods and belongings, they face terrible hardships.
Source : IRIN | 23-Oct-2008 12:50

AFRICA: Red Cross broadens its range of assistance
JOHANNESBURG Wednesday, October 22, 2008 (IRIN) - African governments are failing to make proper use of local Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, despite their capacity to provide much-needed broad humanitarian support, including funding and local volunteers, the agencies concluded at a conference this week.
Source : irinnews.org | 22-Oct-2008 20:20

SOMALIA: Conflict, drought force more children onto Hargeisa streets
HARGEISA Wednesday, October 22, 2008 (IRIN) - Conflict, drought and economic hardships have led to an unprecedented increase in the number of street children in Hargeisa, capital of Somalia?s self-declared independent republic of Somaliland, with government and aid agencies calling for urgent steps to stem the increase.
Source : irinnews.org | 22-Oct-2008 14:40

GLOBAL: Climate change's threat to water needs more study
JOHANNESBURG Tuesday, October 21, 2008 (IRIN) - Models to predict the impact of climate change on potable water and the management of wastewater are needed to deal with the expected increase in water-related illnesses as result of global warming, says a new policy brief by the United Nations University (UNU).
Source : irinnews.org | 21-Oct-2008 20:50

SOMALIA: Nasir Ahmed - "I feel bad every time I see children my age going to school"
HARGEISA Tuesday, October 21, 2008 (IRIN) - More and more children are missing out on childhood as conflict continues in war-torn Somalia. Families who fled the violence have been separated from their children and, as poverty bites due to drought and hyperinflation, many children have taken to the streets to fend for their families. Nasir Ahmed, 12, is one such child in Hargeisa, the capital of the self-declared republic of Somaliland.
Source : irinnews.org | 21-Oct-2008 15:49

SOMALIA: Poor rains intensify human suffering and deprivation - report
NAIROBI Friday, October 17, 2008 (IRIN) - The situation in Somalia has deteriorated into an "unfolding humanitarian disaster" with shocking levels of human suffering and deprivation, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned.
Source : irinnews.org | 17-Oct-2008 13:29

SOMALIA-SOUTH AFRICA: Foreign competitors not welcome
CAPE TOWN Friday, October 17, 2008 (IRIN) - About 200 Somali businessmen in South Africa's Western Cape Province are being threatened with violence if they continue doing business in the townships. They recently returned to the areas after fleeing a wave of xenophobic attacks in May 2008.
Source : irinnews.org | 17-Oct-2008 11:09

SOMALIA: Displaced and neglected in Somaliland
HARGEISA Thursday, October 16, 2008 (IRIN) - More than 26,000 people displaced from southern Somalia to Somaliland are not receiving adequate assistance because officials in the region, which regards itself as an independent country, give priority to those displaced within Somaliland.
Source : irinnews.org | 16-Oct-2008 16:49

SOMALIA-SOUTH AFRICA: Mahad Omar Abdi: "I cannot go back to Somalia"
CAPE TOWN Wednesday, October 15, 2008 (IRIN) - Mahad Omar Abdi, 33, from Somalia, owns a supermarket in the sprawling dormitory township of Khayalitsha, on the outskirts of the Atlantic port city of Cape Town. His shop was looted during xenophobic attacks in South Africa in May 2008.
Source : irinnews.org | 15-Oct-2008 15:19

ETHIOPIA: Emergency beneficiaries increase to 6.4 million
ADDIS ABABA Tuesday, October 14, 2008 (IRIN) - More than six million people in Ethiopia now require emergency food assistance because of drought and rising food prices, according to the government, revising a June estimate of 4.6 million needy people. The official figure in April was 2.2 million.
Source : irinnews.org | 14-Oct-2008 17:09

AFRICA: ?Sexually-transmitted grades? kills quality education
DAKAR Friday, October 10, 2008 (IRIN) - Sexual exploitation in African schools has become so widespread that children have come up with their own terms to refer to sexual relations with their teachers. From ?Sexually Transmitted Grades? to ?BF?, or bordel fatigue, which refers to exhaustion from multiple sexual activities with teachers, this slang hints at the prevalence of exploitation in Africa?s learning environments.
Source : irinnews.org | 10-Oct-2008 12:39

SOMALIA: Floods add to IDP misery in Lower Shabelle
NAIROBI Thursday, October 09, 2008 (IRIN) - Thousands of internally displaced persons living in camps in and around Somalia's southern port town of Marka have been left without shelter after heavy rains pounded the area, officials said.
Source : IRIN | 09-Oct-2008 15:09

ETHIOPIA: Can't eat, won't learn
HWASSA Thursday, October 09, 2008 (IRIN) - Ethiopia's schools have opened for the new academic year, but severe food insecurity in some regions has kept thousands of children out of class.
Source : IRIN | 09-Oct-2008 08:29

SOMALIA: NGOs urge international community to protect civilians
NAIROBI Tuesday, October 07, 2008 (IRIN) - Insecurity, drought and record-high food prices have led to a rapid escalation of the humanitarian crisis in Somalia, with some 3.25 million people now needing emergency aid, NGOs said.
Source : IRIN | 07-Oct-2008 13:30

SOMALIA: Piracy threatens aid delivery - analyst
NAIROBI Friday, October 03, 2008 (IRIN) - The international community must formulate a plan to ensure that piracy does not interrupt the supply of food aid to war-torn Somalia, a consultant with Chatham House, an international think-tank, has said.
Source : IRIN | 03-Oct-2008 18:39

ERITREA: Food shortages feared as rains fail
NAIROBI Friday, October 03, 2008 (IRIN) - A combination of poor rains, decreased food production and the knock-on effects of increased global prices would adversely affect vulnerable groups in Eritrea this year, aid agencies warned.
Source : IRIN | 03-Oct-2008 12:59

GLOBAL: "Hot topic" - special journal issue on climate and migration reviewed
JOHANNESBURG Monday, September 29, 2008 (IRIN) - The October issue of the Forced Migration Review (FMR), a journal published three times a year by Oxford University's Refugee Studies Centre, is a 38-article buffet on climate change and displacement, a ?hot topic? according to Jean-Francois Durieux, a lecturer at the centre.
Source : IRIN | 29-Sep-2008 17:59

AFRICA: Call to ban cluster bombs
KAMPALA Monday, September 29, 2008 (IRIN) - Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu called cluster munitions "an abomination whose manufacture and use should not be tolerated by any government", amid calls for African countries to do more to ensure the weapons are banned.
Source : IRIN | 29-Sep-2008 17:29

SOMALIA: Fighting forces 18,500 to flee Mogadishu
NAIROBI Monday, September 29, 2008 (IRIN) - Fighting between insurgents and Somali government forces backed by Ethiopian troops and AU peacekeepers has sparked another exodus of civilians from Mogadishu, a local human rights group said
Source : irinnews.org | 29-Sep-2008 14:49