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UGANDA: Government accused of negligence over nodding disease
11 June 2012
(IRIN
),
Two lawsuits have been filed against the Ugandan government for alleged negligence in the handling of nodding disease which has killed at least 200 children since 2009 and currently affects 3,500 others, according to the Ministry of Health.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95615/UGANDA-Government-accused-of-negligence-over-nodding-disease
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KENYA: Turkana fishermen want better roads, storage facilities
8 June 2012
(IRIN
),
Kalokol fish-landing bay in Kenya's northwestern Turkana region is a hive of activity when the fish come in: Women fishmongers jostle for bargains as they seek to buy smaller fish to sell at the local market, while waiting middlemen rush to load the best fish into their vehicles.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95608/KENYA-Turkana-fishermen-want-better-roads-storage-facilities
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KENYA: Disease threat to vital maize crop
31 May 2012
(IRIN
),
Maize lethal necrosis (MLN), a disease which has affected at least 300,000 maize farmers mainly in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province, could adversely affect harvests of the staple nationally if it is allowed to spread, warn experts.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95563/KENYA-Disease-threat-to-vital-maize-crop
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NIGER: In deep water
30 May 2012
(IRIN
),
Right now, people in Niger, Mali and Nigeria could be sipping 50,000-year-old water from a two-aquifer system buried below their feet. But some of it may be contaminated.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95536/NIGER-In-deep-water
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ETHIOPIA: Poor rains prompt calls for more food assistance
25 May 2012
(IRIN
),
Aid agencies are calling for more food assistance for areas in southern and northeastern Ethiopia where erratic rains have adversely affected the mid-February to May `Belg’ crop.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95528/ETHIOPIA-Poor-rains-prompt-calls-for-more-food-assistance
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SAHEL: Sharp price hikes cause alarm
25 May 2012
(IRIN
),
Unexpectedly sharp price rises in April for local cereals like millet, rice and maize in parts of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad mean many vulnerable people in the drought-hit Sahel could find it even harder to get enough to eat.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95532/SAHEL-Sharp-price-hikes-cause-alarm
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COTE D'IVOIRE: Traders resist rice price rules
22 May 2012
(IRIN
),
Some 320,000 people in Côte d'Ivoire are grappling with hunger partly because they cannot afford the high prices of imported rice, but government efforts to bring down the cost of the staple food are so far not working well.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95497/COTE-D-IVOIRE-Traders-resist-rice-price-rules
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ZIMBABWE: Small grains are tough sell
21 May 2012
(IRIN
),
Bright Makakai, 41, is constantly advised by a farming programme he listens to on his solar-powered radio to “plant small grains” in the drought-prone area of Shurugwi, about 200km southeast of Gweru, the capital of Midlands Province in Zimbabwe. But he chooses to cultivate mainly maize, even though the crop generally fails because of poor rains.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95489/ZIMBABWE-Small-grains-are-tough-sell
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DRC: “Banana Aids” threatens social fabric on Idjwi island
21 May 2012
(IRIN
),
More than half of mountainous South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is infected by banana xanthomonas wilt (BXW), often referred to by farmers as “Banana AIDS”. The incurable disease is wiping out bananas and plantains grown at high altitudes and spreads easily. IRIN looked at the disease and how people are being affected on the island of Idjwi (population 230,000) in Lake Kivu.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95494/DRC-Banana-Aids-threatens-social-fabric-on-Idjwi-island
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Analysis: Division and stasis in Guinea-Bissau
18 May 2012
(IRIN
),
On 16 May a transition pact brokered by the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) and signed by all parties except the majority PAIGC [African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde] - officially nominated Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo as Interim President of Guinea-Bissau for one year. The decision was made after weeks of political wrangling following a military coup on 12 April that interrupted presidential elections, in which ex- Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior from the PAIGC party was the clear front-runner. While many fear the decision to install Nhamadjo will lead to yet more division in the politically polarized nation, others just want the country to get back on track economically, since markets and basic services have more or less been at a standstill since the latest coup.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95483/Analysis-Division-and-stasis-in-Guinea-Bissau
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