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Report calls for radical reforms to reduce inequality
21 May 2013
(IRIN
),
The hunger afflicting millions of people in the world’s poorest regions will not end unless there is radical shift in governance and development work toward narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor, says a new report by the aid agency Oxfam.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98075/Report-calls-for-radical-reforms-to-reduce-inequality
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Malaria overstretching healthcare in DRC
20 May 2013
(IRIN
),
Gaps in the healthcare system in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are hampering the fight against malaria, a leading killer of children, say experts.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98069/Malaria-overstretching-healthcare-in-DRC
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The changing face of land disputes in Liberia
20 May 2013
(IRIN
),
The Liberia Land Commission, which was set up in 2009 to help settle land disputes between returning refugees and their neighbours, is making significant headway, say land experts, but non-conflict related land disputes are increasing, most of them as a result of weak land laws.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98070/The-changing-face-of-land-disputes-in-Liberia
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Making WASH work in Burkina Faso’s cities
17 May 2013
(IRIN
),
Earlier this year Denis Ouedraogo, a tailor living in the Tampouy neighbourhood just north of Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou, connected his mud-walled home to the water network for the first time. “Even without electricity, having enough water can make you happy,” he said.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98054/Making-WASH-work-in-Burkina-Faso-s-cities
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Briefing: Restive northern Kenya sees shifting power, risks
17 May 2013
(IRIN
),
The presence of foreign militias in parts of northeastern Kenya, and their collusion with security officials and business people there, may be to blame for a rise in insecurity in the region, where multiple gun and grenade attacks have been reported over the past two years.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98059/Briefing-Restive-northern-Kenya-sees-shifting-power-risks
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Microcredit helps small businesses buck the system in Madagascar
16 May 2013
(IRIN
),
Justine Sija, 60, begins her day at 4am, when she buys catch from local fishermen to hawk on the streets of St Augustin Village, in Madagascar’s southern Atsimo-Andrefana Region. The work is hard, but in the last year, access to microcredit has boosted both her business and her hope for the future.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98050/Microcredit-helps-small-businesses-buck-the-system-in-Madagascar
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Cape Town's asylum seekers struggle to get documented
16 May 2013
(IRIN
),
When Jean Baptiste*, a medical student from Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), arrived in South Africa in September 2012, he headed straight for Cape Town, where he knew he would be able to stay with his brother. No one at the border told him that it was no longer possible to apply for asylum in Cape Town.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98051/Cape-Town-s-asylum-seekers-struggle-to-get-documented
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Pastoralism’s economic contributions are significant but overlooked
16 May 2013
(IRIN
),
Pastoralism is often regarded as an antiquated practice ill-suited to the modern economy, yet trade between pastoral communities in Africa - much of it informal and illegal - generates an estimated US$1 billion each year, according to a new book published by the Futures Agriculture Consortium.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98052/Pastoralism-s-economic-contributions-are-significant-but-overlooked
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Call for oil revenues to improve living standards in Congo
15 May 2013
(IRIN
),
Congo, which is heavily dependent on revenue from the oil industry, has been declared as “conforming to” a global standard that aims to ensure transparency of payments for natural resources; NGOs hope the announcement will improve the lives of the poor.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98044/Call-for-oil-revenues-to-improve-living-standards-in-Congo
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Boko Haram attacks hit school attendance in Borno State
14 May 2013
(IRIN
),
Around 15,000 children in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, have stopped attending classes since February 2013, according to a Borno State Ministry of Education official who preferred anonymity, as Boko Haram extremists continue a wave of attacks on state schools.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98032/Boko-Haram-attacks-hit-school-attendance-in-Borno-State
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Uganda grapples with paediatric vaccine shortages
14 May 2013
(IRIN
),
Ugandan children are going unimmunized as the country grapples with persistent and widespread vaccine shortages, the result of insufficient funds and inefficient procurement and supply systems, officials say.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98033/Uganda-grapples-with-paediatric-vaccine-shortages
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Quelling xenophobia in South Africa's townships
14 May 2013
(IRIN
),
This week marks five years since tensions between foreigners and South Africans living in impoverished communities across the country erupted in xenophobic violence, leaving more than 60 people dead and tens of thousands displaced, their homes and businesses robbed and abandoned.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98035/Quelling-xenophobia-in-South-Africa-s-townships
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Briefing: Towards internal solutions to the DRC crisis
14 May 2013
(IRIN
),
A UN intervention brigade will soon be deployed to the troubled eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a bid to neutralize militia groups operating there.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98036/Briefing-Towards-internal-solutions-to-the-DRC-crisis
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Circumcision plans go awry in Swaziland
13 May 2013
(IRIN
),
It was an ambitious plan to circumcise the majority of men in Swaziland, an effort to reduce the risk of HIV transmission in a country with the world's highest HIV prevalence. How could it have gone wrong?
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98023/Circumcision-plans-go-awry-in-Swaziland
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Analysis: Somali security sector reform
13 May 2013
(IRIN
),
At Gashandiga barracks in Mogadishu, Somalia, Pvt Mohamed Sheikh Issak pulled back his military fatigues to show his scarred right shoulder. “I was shot by Al-Shabab when they still controlled half of Mogadishu,” he told IRIN. “I was at home, but they knew I was a soldier.”
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98028/Analysis-Somali-security-sector-reform
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Understanding the causes of violent extremism in West Africa
10 May 2013
(IRIN
),
Academics and government, military and civil society representatives gathered for a conference in the Senegalese capital this week to assess the interplay between development and violent extremism in West Africa, with some participants suggesting that underdevelopment, marginalization and weak governance create a breeding ground for militancy.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98012/Understanding-the-causes-of-violent-extremism-in-West-Africa
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Briefing: The UN’s integrated mission in Somalia
10 May 2013
(IRIN
),
Following the unanimous adoption of a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution setting up an integrated mission in Somalia, the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) will be set up for an initial one-year period beginning on 3 June; it will be based in the capital Mogadishu.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98015/Briefing-The-UN-s-integrated-mission-in-Somalia
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Hunger projects stalled in Guinea-Bissau
9 May 2013
(IRIN
),
The World Food Programme (WFP) has not received the money it needs to run basic nutrition and food security schemes in Guinea-Bissau, leaving projects in jeopardy or at a standstill.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98004/Hunger-projects-stalled-in-Guinea-Bissau
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Trading conflict for coffee in DRC
8 May 2013
(IRIN
),
Entrepreneur Gilbert Makelele wants armed groups in his part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to wake up and smell the coffee.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97998/Trading-conflict-for-coffee-in-DRC
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Is more force in the DRC more of the same?
8 May 2013
(IRIN
),
The imminent deployment of a UN-backed 3,000-strong international force mandated to “neutralize… and disarm” all armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) marks a switch to a more belligerent international stance towards rebel militia, but has met with scepticism in some quarters.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97999/Is-more-force-in-the-DRC-more-of-the-same
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