Asia braces for spill-over of new bird flu strain

BANGKOK, 8 April 2013 (IRIN) - Officials throughout Asia are implementing measures to protect people from a new strain of bird flu - H7N9 - that has so far infected 24 people in China, killing seven. full report

Games, cartoons boost youth disaster preparation

LONDON, 27 February 2013 (IRIN) - NGOs and UN agencies warn that natural disasters disproportionately affect youths and that more creative use of media is needed to help brace them for natural calamities. full report

Vietnam’s Buddhist response to disaster

HANOI/HUE, 16 January 2013 (IRIN) - Buddhist monks, nuns and their followers have long contributed to Vietnam’s disaster relief efforts. Sometimes equipped with canoes filled with instant noodles, woollen hats and psychosocial counsellors, this local cadre may lack standard operating procedures, but it constitutes a largely undocumented and significant disaster relief system running parallel to governmental efforts. full report

Briefing: Vietnam’s move away from detaining sex workers

HANOI, 20 December 2012 (IRIN) - Sex workers in Vietnam are struggling to figure out their next steps after the government’s decision earlier this year to release them from compulsory detention centres that have been widely condemned for alleged human rights abuses. full report

DISASTERS: Asia’s 2012 figures and trends

BANGKOK, 11 December 2012 (IRIN) - The good news: fewer people died from natural disasters in Asia in 2012 than in previous years. The bad news: between January and October, natural disasters still claimed more lives here than anywhere else in the world - and experts predict the trend will continue as populations and industries expand in a region that already houses the world’s largest number of urban residents. full report

How to: Map sexual networks

NEW YORK CITY, 30 November 2012 (IRIN) - With whom did you last have sex? When? Where? How? At crowded food stalls and in dimly lit bars, Kelvin Parker carries out what HIV researchers call “sexual networking mapping”. full report

Analysis: Vietnam’s tale of two helmets

HANOI, 22 November 2012 (IRIN) - Vietnam, where more than nine out of 10 registered vehicles are motorcycles and each household typically owns two, is grappling with how to boost road safety. Each year close to 15,000 people (out of a population of 86 million) die in traffic-related accidents, mostly motorbikes. full report

Analysis: Salt of life dries up in Vietnam

HANOI, 9 November 2012 (IRIN) - Your LCD TV screen was made with it; your brain does not function well without it. Meet iodine, a multifunctional chemical element found in soil and seawater that when mixed with table salt, is the most effective way to thwart preventable brain damage. full report

In Brief: Malaria summit opens in Sydney

BANGKOK, 31 October 2012 (IRIN) - More than 200 health experts have gathered in Sydney for a three-day conference to bolster political commitment to tackle the spread of malaria. full report