http://www.irinnews.org/irin-fp.aspxUpdated everydayen-gbFri, 03 Feb 2012 16:30:38 GMTFri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>LONDON 03 February 2012 (IRIN) - Ten little-known but debilitating diseases will be high on the agenda of the world's pharmaceutical chiefs, health ministers and donor governments after they pledged their support for a World Health Organization (WHO) initiative to wipe out guinea worm, river blindness, trachoma, leprosy, bilharzia and intestinal worms, among other "neglected" diseases.Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94788LONDON 03 February 2012 (IRIN) - Ten little-known but debilitating diseases will be high on the agenda of the world's pharmaceutical chiefs, health ministers and donor governments after they pledged their support for a World Health Organization (WHO) initiative to wipe out guinea worm, river blindness, trachoma, leprosy, bilharzia and intestinal worms, among other "neglected" diseases.]]>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>LONDON 03 February 2012 (IRIN) - A new attempt to quantify malaria deaths over the past 30 years suggests the death toll, especially among adults, has been greatly underestimated. The figures also show the fragility of the gains made in fighting the disease. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94796LONDON 03 February 2012 (IRIN) - A new attempt to quantify malaria deaths over the past 30 years suggests the death toll, especially among adults, has been greatly underestimated. The figures also show the fragility of the gains made in fighting the disease. ]]>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI/JOHANNESBURG 02 February 2012 (IRIN) - The appointment of a new general manager, Gabriel Jaramillo, at the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis could be a "turning point" for the troubled organization, which has suffered from a funding crisis and allegations of corruption.Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94777NAIROBI/JOHANNESBURG 02 February 2012 (IRIN) - The appointment of a new general manager, Gabriel Jaramillo, at the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis could be a "turning point" for the troubled organization, which has suffered from a funding crisis and allegations of corruption.]]>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI/KINSHASA 02 February 2012 (IRIN) - The lives of thousands of HIV-positive people in the Democratic Republic of Congo are at risk as the country faces declining donor funding and a severe shortage of HIV treatment, according to Médecins Sans Frontières.Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94781NAIROBI/KINSHASA 02 February 2012 (IRIN) - The lives of thousands of HIV-positive people in the Democratic Republic of Congo are at risk as the country faces declining donor funding and a severe shortage of HIV treatment, according to Médecins Sans Frontières.]]>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DUBAI 31 January 2012 (IRIN) - Among the migrants who found themselves caught up in Libya during last year's war was a group of people whom one University of Oxford researcher calls "invisible": refugees who travel to third countries for work or better education.Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94762DUBAI 31 January 2012 (IRIN) - Among the migrants who found themselves caught up in Libya during last year's war was a group of people whom one University of Oxford researcher calls "invisible": refugees who travel to third countries for work or better education.]]>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>GAZA CITY 30 January 2012 (IRIN) - Secours Islamique France is a respected aid agency, part of the global Islamic Relief network based in the UK, but when it comes to helping Palestinians in Gaza, its operations are challenged by both Israeli bureaucracy and its own “no-contact” policy with the Hamas officials who control the territory.Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94750GAZA CITY 30 January 2012 (IRIN) - Secours Islamique France is a respected aid agency, part of the global Islamic Relief network based in the UK, but when it comes to helping Palestinians in Gaza, its operations are challenged by both Israeli bureaucracy and its own “no-contact” policy with the Hamas officials who control the territory.]]>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>KABUL 30 January 2012 (IRIN) - Afghanistan suffers from cyclical natural disasters - floods and drought - which affect people annually and require expensive emergency responses, but their impacts could well be avoided, or at least mitigated, if proper water management systems or dams were built, for example.Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94753KABUL 30 January 2012 (IRIN) - Afghanistan suffers from cyclical natural disasters - floods and drought - which affect people annually and require expensive emergency responses, but their impacts could well be avoided, or at least mitigated, if proper water management systems or dams were built, for example.]]>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>RAMALLAH 27 January 2012 (IRIN) - The humanitarian community’s 2012-2013 Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) has a narrower scope than in previous years, focusing on two strategic objectives: improving the protective environment, including access to essential services like health care and education, and tackling food insecurity especially in areas where the Palestinian Authority (PA) has limited access.Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94740RAMALLAH 27 January 2012 (IRIN) - The humanitarian community’s 2012-2013 Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) has a narrower scope than in previous years, focusing on two strategic objectives: improving the protective environment, including access to essential services like health care and education, and tackling food insecurity especially in areas where the Palestinian Authority (PA) has limited access.]]>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>PARASI 27 January 2012 (IRIN) - After the discovery of unsafe levels of arsenic in Nepal’s groundwater more than a decade ago, government officials and aid groups are finally taking a critical look at whether their efforts have made a difference.Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94734PARASI 27 January 2012 (IRIN) - After the discovery of unsafe levels of arsenic in Nepal’s groundwater more than a decade ago, government officials and aid groups are finally taking a critical look at whether their efforts have made a difference.]]>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 25 January 2012 (IRIN) - In the past five years, “resilience” (the ability to absorb shocks and recover) has become quite a buzzword in the aid community. Discussions on adapting to a changing climate are increasingly peppered with the “need to build resilience” of people, infrastructure and governments in the face of shocks such as soaring temperatures, rising sea levels, severe storms and flooding.Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94714JOHANNESBURG 25 January 2012 (IRIN) - In the past five years, “resilience” (the ability to absorb shocks and recover) has become quite a buzzword in the aid community. Discussions on adapting to a changing climate are increasingly peppered with the “need to build resilience” of people, infrastructure and governments in the face of shocks such as soaring temperatures, rising sea levels, severe storms and flooding.]]>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>GUIGLO 19 January 2012 (IRIN) - Nine months after fighting ended in Côte d’Ivoire, at least 15,000 displaced people are still in camps, many of the half million returnees require food aid, the groundwork for reconciliation in many parts of the west has not yet been laid - and aid workers are worried funding will dry up, threatening the fragile peace.Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94684GUIGLO 19 January 2012 (IRIN) - Nine months after fighting ended in Côte d’Ivoire, at least 15,000 displaced people are still in camps, many of the half million returnees require food aid, the groundwork for reconciliation in many parts of the west has not yet been laid - and aid workers are worried funding will dry up, threatening the fragile peace.]]>Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>KABUL 17 January 2012 (IRIN) - Avalanches in northeastern Afghanistan have cut off tens - if not hundreds - of thousands of people already at risk of hunger due to drought, opening the door to a potential humanitarian crisis if aid cannot reach them, says a provincial official.Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94662KABUL 17 January 2012 (IRIN) - Avalanches in northeastern Afghanistan have cut off tens - if not hundreds - of thousands of people already at risk of hunger due to drought, opening the door to a potential humanitarian crisis if aid cannot reach them, says a provincial official.]]>Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>LONDON 13 January 2012 (IRIN) - Putting all UN operations in a country under a single management structure is not as simple as it might sound. In some countries, different parts of the UN may be negotiating with rebels to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid, while their colleagues might be involved in planning military assaults against the very same groups.Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94647LONDON 13 January 2012 (IRIN) - Putting all UN operations in a country under a single management structure is not as simple as it might sound. In some countries, different parts of the UN may be negotiating with rebels to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid, while their colleagues might be involved in planning military assaults against the very same groups.]]>Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>SANA'A 11 January 2012 (IRIN) - Unrest in Yemen for almost a year has affected the government’s capacity to function, forcing aid agencies to work more closely with, and through, community-level partners and volunteers, says a senior aid worker with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94623SANA'A 11 January 2012 (IRIN) - Unrest in Yemen for almost a year has affected the government’s capacity to function, forcing aid agencies to work more closely with, and through, community-level partners and volunteers, says a senior aid worker with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).]]>Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>KATHMANDU 10 January 2012 (IRIN) - An effort by US donors and multinational agribusiness Monsanto to partner with Nepal to boost local maize production with imported hybrid seeds has met civil society opposition calling - instead - for home-grown solutions.Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94611KATHMANDU 10 January 2012 (IRIN) - An effort by US donors and multinational agribusiness Monsanto to partner with Nepal to boost local maize production with imported hybrid seeds has met civil society opposition calling - instead - for home-grown solutions.]]>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DADAAB 09 January 2012 (IRIN) - Several community leaders among the 463,000 residents of the world’s largest refugee complex have left the facility in eastern Kenya, fearing for their safety after the killing of two of their colleagues.Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94596DADAAB 09 January 2012 (IRIN) - Several community leaders among the 463,000 residents of the world’s largest refugee complex have left the facility in eastern Kenya, fearing for their safety after the killing of two of their colleagues.]]>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>RAMALLAH 09 January 2012 (IRIN) - Izz Tawil draws a black circle on the flip-chart in his office in Ramallah, capital of the West Bank in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94606RAMALLAH 09 January 2012 (IRIN) - Izz Tawil draws a black circle on the flip-chart in his office in Ramallah, capital of the West Bank in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).]]>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>BANGKOK 04 January 2012 (IRIN) - As the government of Myanmar continues to pledge political reform, donors are reassessing their giving in a country that has historically received among the lowest levels of per capita development aid of any developing country.Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94584BANGKOK 04 January 2012 (IRIN) - As the government of Myanmar continues to pledge political reform, donors are reassessing their giving in a country that has historically received among the lowest levels of per capita development aid of any developing country.]]>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 04 January 2012 (IRIN) - A new report on child migration in West Africa says thousands of children are being sold, exchanged or transported out of their communities each year in violation of internationally-recognized rights of the child, and calls on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to persuade governments to better protect these children.Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94582DAKAR 04 January 2012 (IRIN) - A new report on child migration in West Africa says thousands of children are being sold, exchanged or transported out of their communities each year in violation of internationally-recognized rights of the child, and calls on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to persuade governments to better protect these children.]]>Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI/JOHANNESBURG 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - It's been a roller coaster of a year in HIV and AIDS. AIDS turned 30 in 2011, and with new evidence of the effectiveness of HIV treatment as prevention, experts are increasingly talking about "the end of AIDS". At the same time, however, funding for HIV has become ever more uncertain, jeopardizing efforts to put new, life-saving science into action.Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94562NAIROBI/JOHANNESBURG 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - It's been a roller coaster of a year in HIV and AIDS. AIDS turned 30 in 2011, and with new evidence of the effectiveness of HIV treatment as prevention, experts are increasingly talking about "the end of AIDS". At the same time, however, funding for HIV has become ever more uncertain, jeopardizing efforts to put new, life-saving science into action.]]>Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - In 2011 the global economic crisis combined with poor governance, financial mismanagement and unpredictable rainfall to push several southern African countries to the point of crisis. Others responded to rising unemployment and increased pressure on national budgets by hardening their attitude towards immigrants and closing their borders to asylum-seekers. IRIN covered developments from all over the region, but the following stories consistently grabbed headlines:Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94564JOHANNESBURG 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - In 2011 the global economic crisis combined with poor governance, financial mismanagement and unpredictable rainfall to push several southern African countries to the point of crisis. Others responded to rising unemployment and increased pressure on national budgets by hardening their attitude towards immigrants and closing their borders to asylum-seekers. IRIN covered developments from all over the region, but the following stories consistently grabbed headlines:]]>Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>MISRATA/TRIPOLI/DUBAI 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - Mistrust of Libya’s interim administration is likely to deter tens of thousands of revolutionary fighters from complying with a massive new demobilization plan, according to analysts and former rebels.Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94559MISRATA/TRIPOLI/DUBAI 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - Mistrust of Libya’s interim administration is likely to deter tens of thousands of revolutionary fighters from complying with a massive new demobilization plan, according to analysts and former rebels.]]>Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 27 December 2011 (IRIN) - From scientific breakthroughs to herbal "cures", HIV was never far from the headlines in 2011.Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94548NAIROBI 27 December 2011 (IRIN) - From scientific breakthroughs to herbal "cures", HIV was never far from the headlines in 2011.]]>Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 23 December 2011 (IRIN) - While severely high food prices and lower-than-average cereal outputs are already forcing some vulnerable Sahelians into distress responses, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) food security website FEWSNET says messaging on the situation needs to be more nuanced.Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94531DAKAR 23 December 2011 (IRIN) - While severely high food prices and lower-than-average cereal outputs are already forcing some vulnerable Sahelians into distress responses, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) food security website FEWSNET says messaging on the situation needs to be more nuanced.]]>Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 20 December 2011 (IRIN) - At the global aid effectiveness forum in Busan, South Korea, in November and December this year, the “G7+”, a group of nations which includes 19 fragile and conflict-affected states, agreed a New Deal on fragile states, which sets out concrete and, they hope, more relevant ways to improve peace- and state-building goals.Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94502DAKAR 20 December 2011 (IRIN) - At the global aid effectiveness forum in Busan, South Korea, in November and December this year, the “G7+”, a group of nations which includes 19 fragile and conflict-affected states, agreed a New Deal on fragile states, which sets out concrete and, they hope, more relevant ways to improve peace- and state-building goals.]]>