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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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Hunger at crisis levels in northern Mali
12 April 2013
(IRIN
),
Hunger in Mali has reached crisis levels in the northern Kidal Region and has reached critical levels in Gao and Timbuktu regions, according to food security agencies and the government’s early warning body.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97834/Hunger-at-crisis-levels-in-northern-Mali
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Can Niger offer Mali lessons on the Tuareg?
11 April 2013
(IRIN
),
The conflict that erupted in Mali in early 2012 brought to the surface a long history of rebellions and autonomy demands by the Tuareg. But the Tuareg in neighbouring Niger appear to have more stable ties with the government there. Does Niger’s experience hold any lessons for Bamako?
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97823/Can-Niger-offer-Mali-lessons-on-the-Tuareg
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Niger seeks to end cycle of hunger
5 April 2013
(IRIN
),
Niger is seeking to end its chronic food shortages through an ambitious agricultural transformation plan - but the plan will have to meet the demands of a fast-growing population living in a mostly desert country that also faces threats to is security.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97790/Niger-seeks-to-end-cycle-of-hunger
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From drought policy to reality
18 March 2013
(IRIN
),
There is quite a leap to be made between a country’s declared intent to draw up a drought policy and actually making it happen on the ground. This was the view of several participants at the recent High-Level Meeting on National Drought Policy in Geneva.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97673/From-drought-policy-to-reality
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Call to end neglect of emergency education in Mali
15 March 2013
(IRIN
),
Aid workers and experts are calling for more attention to education in Mali, where 200,000 children are out of school due to the crisis but where money for emergency education has yet to come forward.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97656/Call-to-end-neglect-of-emergency-education-in-Mali
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Building resilience
8 March 2013
(IRIN
),
A series of articles exploring what resilience means for vulnerable communities, and its impact on the architecture of aid.
http://www.irinnews.org/In-depth/97594/105/Building-resilience
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Indonesia tries “cloud seeding” to prevent flooding in Jakarta
4 March 2013
(IRIN
),
Scientists in Indonesia are experimenting with cloud seeding, or firing salt-based chemicals into clouds to force out rain, to try and prevent flooding in the capital Jakarta, home to increasingly destructive rains.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97583/Indonesia-tries-cloud-seeding-to-prevent-flooding-in-Jakarta
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Understanding resilience
4 March 2013
(IRIN
),
No one working in the aid community in recent years could have avoided the buzzword “resilience” - but what does the term mean practically, and how has it helped shape action on the ground?
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97584/Understanding-resilience
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Analysis: The R-word - Rhetoric versus reality in the Sahel
4 March 2013
(IRIN
),
The annual gearing-up of humanitarian programmes to treat the chronic problems of vulnerable Sahelians is a clear sign that development there is not working. As a result, the Sahel is at the centre of the debate on the need to boost vulnerable people's resilience to shocks.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97590/Analysis-The-R-word-Rhetoric-versus-reality-in-the-Sahel
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Getting food aid right
1 March 2013
(IRIN
),
Despite early warning information about the Horn of Africa’s impending drought crisis in 2011, humanitarian responses were slow to mobilize, leading to tens of thousands of deaths in the region and famine in parts of Somalia.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97576/Getting-food-aid-right
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Why the Sahel needs $1.6 billion again this year
19 February 2013
(IRIN
),
The 2013 Sahel Regional Strategy calls for US$1.66 billion to help meet humanitarian needs and build up resilience among vulnerable groups - an identical figure to the 2012 crisis appeal - even though aid agencies estimate the number of Sahelians at risk of going hungry this year has dropped 44 percent to 10.3 million. IRIN spoke to aid agency representatives to find out why the ask has remained constant.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97505/Why-the-Sahel-needs-1-6-billion-again-this-year
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The regional threat posed by Mali’s militants
18 February 2013
(IRIN
),
Militant Islamists fleeing northern Mali under pressure from French forces could undermine security in neighbouring countries from where some of the fighters are believed to hail. They could also attract the support of sympathetic militias in the region, and even target countries with large expatriate communities, analysts say.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97494/The-regional-threat-posed-by-Mali-s-militants
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Five food issues to watch out for
15 February 2013
(IRIN
),
Who or what do you blame when the price of maize seems to keep going through the roof? If you did not mention fuel subsidies, then you need to read this list of emerging food issues in Africa.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97487/Five-food-issues-to-watch-out-for
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What's the way forward for Mali?
12 February 2013
(IRIN
),
The French military offensive in Mali halted militant Islamists’ drive southwards and dislodged them from parts of the northern region, but the fight is far from over, and the country’s future unsure.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97456/What-s-the-way-forward-for-Mali
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Will more trees cause more rain?
8 February 2013
(IRIN
),
It is commonly believed that destroying trees will influence the climate of a region. But scientific evidence to support that deforestation and afforestation influence local climate - affecting temperature and rainfall - has only just started emerging.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97428/Will-more-trees-cause-more-rain
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Don’t underestimate Mauritania needs, say aid agencies
6 February 2013
(IRIN
),
Despite a decent harvest and pasture coverage for livestock, aid agencies say they and donors must not underestimate vulnerability in Mauritania, having admitted they seriously underestimated the extent of the crisis in 2012 due to inadequate assessment systems and insufficient alarm calls to donors to respond.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97421/Don-t-underestimate-Mauritania-needs-say-aid-agencies
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Mali a “wake-up call” for drug trafficking, says think tank
5 February 2013
(IRIN
),
At the launch of a Ghana-based Commission on the Impact of Drug-Trafficking on Governance, Security and Development in West Africa, its chair, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, said the situation in Mali should serve as a “wake-up call” to the perils of allowing organized crime to escalate out of control.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97412/Mali-a-wake-up-call-for-drug-trafficking-says-think-tank
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The dynamics of inter-communal violence in Mali
31 January 2013
(IRIN
),
Ethnic Tuaregs and Arabs in towns across central and northern Mali, including Gao and Timbuktu, have been fleeing into the desert or to neighbouring countries as their houses and shops are looted or they are hunted down on suspicion of being Islamist militants. Fears of inter-communal violence are spreading.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97382/The-dynamics-of-inter-communal-violence-in-Mali
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In Brief: Chad averts locust threat
30 January 2013
(IRIN
),
Chad has eliminated the threat of a full-scale locust invasion in its northern region, a pastoralist zone dotted with oases that provide water for small-scale farming, says the National Locust Control Agency (ANLA).
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97371/In-Brief-Chad-averts-locust-threat
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