| In Brief: World hunger increases despite growth in food production |
 DUSHANBE, 12 November 2009 (IRIN) - Even as world food production grows, hunger is on the rise in many poor countries, according to the Global Crop Prospects and Food Situation report for November, published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on 12 November.
full report
|
| In Brief: Cash does not always mean quality food aid |
 JOHANNESBURG, 11 November 2009 (IRIN) - A move by donor countries to provide aid agencies with cash, allowing them the flexibility to source cheaper or more appropriate food in the region or beneficiary country and save on transport and warehousing costs, is not addressing nutritional needs, according to a new report.
full report
|
| GUINEA-BISSAU: Planning families, saving lives |
 BISSAU, 28 October 2009 (IRIN) - Contraceptive use is on the rise in both urban and rural areas in Guinea-Bissau, as access to reproductive and infant healthcare improves and family planning messages start to sink in, say health officials and UN staff.
full report
|
| Analysis: African IDP convention fills a void in humanitarian law |
 KAMPALA, 27 October 2009 (IRIN) - The African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa is a comprehensive document that will, if ratified, fill a void in international humanitarian law, say experts.
full report
|
| GUINEA-BISSAU: Timeline of key political events |
 BISSAU, 27 October 2009 (IRIN) - Below is a timeline of key political events to take place since the formation of the PAIGC political party in 1956.
full report
|
| GUINEA-BISSAU: Security sector reform still lagging |
 BISSAU, 27 October 2009 (IRIN) - In Guinea-Bissau security sector reform remains stalled but observers say the necessary laws are being written and it is now up to the government to get them through parliament.
full report
|
| GUINEA-BISSAU: Beyond cashews and rice |
 SAN DOMINGOS, 22 October 2009 (IRIN) - Aid agencies are encouraging communities to diversify their agricultural production in Guinea-Bissau, where 90 percent of farmers grow rice or cashews to survive, making them vulnerable to erratic rainfall and price fluctuations.
full report
|
| GUINEA-BISSAU: Falling through the assistance cracks? |
 SAN DOMINGOS, 21 October 2009 (IRIN) - The International Committee of the Red Cross might seem out of place running agricultural diversification projects in northern Guinea-Bissau, given its mandate to help people in times of conflict and violence. But ICRC staff said the region is falling between the assistance cracks and aid to farmers is crucial.
full report
|
| WEST AFRICA: Humanitarian stockpile takes shape - on paper |
 BAMAKO, 21 October 2009 (IRIN) - When a storm hits in Togo, disaster relief items must be flown in from Brindisi, Italy, but that is just too far, according to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which is formalizing the region’s first government-operated humanitarian stockpile in Mali’s capital Bamako.
full report
|
| GUINEA-BISSAU: Fighting crime without police or prisons |
 BISSAU, 16 October 2009 (IRIN) - Loosening organized crime’s grip on Guinea-Bissau is a priority, top government officials say. But the country has no prisons and the Bijagos islands, a drug-trafficking hub off the coast of the capital Bissau, has no judiciary police officers and no communications or surveillance equipment.
full report
|