http://www.irinnews.org/irin-fp.aspxUpdated everydayen-gbThu, 12 Jan 2012 16:00:32 GMTThu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>WASHINGTON 12 January 2012 (IRIN) - The African Union (AU) has unveiled an ambitious wish-list of priorities for Africa that would give the continent a stronger global voice, boost democracy and encourage peace and security.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94630WASHINGTON 12 January 2012 (IRIN) - The African Union (AU) has unveiled an ambitious wish-list of priorities for Africa that would give the continent a stronger global voice, boost democracy and encourage peace and security.]]>Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>BANGKOK 11 January 2012 (IRIN) - Findings that a one-time oral treatment to cure yaws, a neglected tropical disease, is as effective as the currently recommended penicillin injection have prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to convene a meeting on how the disease may be wiped out.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94621BANGKOK 11 January 2012 (IRIN) - Findings that a one-time oral treatment to cure yaws, a neglected tropical disease, is as effective as the currently recommended penicillin injection have prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to convene a meeting on how the disease may be wiped out.]]>Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 18 October 2011 (IRIN) - Genetically modified (GM) food aid bound for Africa has long been a bone of contention among governments, scientists, activists, consumers and aid workers.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93991JOHANNESBURG 18 October 2011 (IRIN) - Genetically modified (GM) food aid bound for Africa has long been a bone of contention among governments, scientists, activists, consumers and aid workers.]]>Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 12 October 2011 (IRIN) - Three simultaneous cholera epidemics have affected 24 countries in West and Central Africa, with 85,000 infections and 2,466 deaths since the beginning of 2011, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93949DAKAR 12 October 2011 (IRIN) - Three simultaneous cholera epidemics have affected 24 countries in West and Central Africa, with 85,000 infections and 2,466 deaths since the beginning of 2011, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).]]>Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>LONDON 20 September 2011 (IRIN) - Last year, an estimated two million women around the world developed breast cancer or cancer of the cervix (the neck of the womb); more than 600,000 died – the equivalent of six large passenger planes crashing every single day.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93767LONDON 20 September 2011 (IRIN) - Last year, an estimated two million women around the world developed breast cancer or cancer of the cervix (the neck of the womb); more than 600,000 died – the equivalent of six large passenger planes crashing every single day.]]>Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 30 August 2011 (IRIN) - Cholera has killed at least 1,200 people this year in the countries surrounding Lake Chad - Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria; the illness, linked primarily to poor sanitation and lack of potable water, has struck some 38,800 people in the region this year and continues to spread.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93617DAKAR 30 August 2011 (IRIN) - Cholera has killed at least 1,200 people this year in the countries surrounding Lake Chad - Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria; the illness, linked primarily to poor sanitation and lack of potable water, has struck some 38,800 people in the region this year and continues to spread.]]>Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 19 August 2011 (IRIN) - “It’s 9pm. Are you and your family sleeping under a mosquito net?” That message - delivered by government officials, artists and other personalities in Cameroon - will run on private and state-run media each evening from 20 August as part of a nationwide media blitz accompanying the distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93547DAKAR 19 August 2011 (IRIN) - “It’s 9pm. Are you and your family sleeping under a mosquito net?” That message - delivered by government officials, artists and other personalities in Cameroon - will run on private and state-run media each evening from 20 August as part of a nationwide media blitz accompanying the distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets.]]>Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 28 June 2011 (IRIN) - Devolving power to local authorities is helping Cameroon step up its fight against a two-year cholera outbreak, say government and aid agency staff.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93085DAKAR 28 June 2011 (IRIN) - Devolving power to local authorities is helping Cameroon step up its fight against a two-year cholera outbreak, say government and aid agency staff.]]>Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>OUAGADOUGOU 15 June 2011 (IRIN) - The roll-out of a revolutionary meningitis vaccination in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger has dramatically cut transmission rates, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and if each country can find sufficient funds to co-finance the campaign, it will be extended to all 25 countries in the Africa meningitis belt by 2016, says the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=92985OUAGADOUGOU 15 June 2011 (IRIN) - The roll-out of a revolutionary meningitis vaccination in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger has dramatically cut transmission rates, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and if each country can find sufficient funds to co-finance the campaign, it will be extended to all 25 countries in the Africa meningitis belt by 2016, says the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).]]>Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 21 April 2011 (IRIN) - A group of international academic institutions and an NGO backed by the European Union (EU) have launched Sustainable Nutrition Research for Africa in the Years to come, or SUNRAY, to develop a nutrition agenda for Africa, with specific emphasis on the 34 sub-Saharan countries.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=92550JOHANNESBURG 21 April 2011 (IRIN) - A group of international academic institutions and an NGO backed by the European Union (EU) have launched Sustainable Nutrition Research for Africa in the Years to come, or SUNRAY, to develop a nutrition agenda for Africa, with specific emphasis on the 34 sub-Saharan countries.]]>Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 08 April 2011 (IRIN) - What’s green, controversial, 15km wide, 7,775km long, cuts across 11 African countries and is designed to reduce livestock deaths and boost food security for millions of people? Nothing yet, but the Great Green Wall project, a pipe-dream for decades, was recently endorsed by a swathe of African states stretching from Senegal to Djibouti.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=92422NAIROBI 08 April 2011 (IRIN) - What’s green, controversial, 15km wide, 7,775km long, cuts across 11 African countries and is designed to reduce livestock deaths and boost food security for millions of people? Nothing yet, but the Great Green Wall project, a pipe-dream for decades, was recently endorsed by a swathe of African states stretching from Senegal to Djibouti.]]>Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 14 February 2011 (IRIN) - Researchers are analysing dust from the Sahel to study its role in the spread of bacterial meningitis in this region hardest hit by the debilitating and often fatal disease.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=91916DAKAR 14 February 2011 (IRIN) - Researchers are analysing dust from the Sahel to study its role in the spread of bacterial meningitis in this region hardest hit by the debilitating and often fatal disease.]]>Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 06 January 2011 (IRIN) - The record prices of staple grains in 2008 made investment in agriculture an attractive proposition for countries exporting as well as importing food. The African Union (AU), with its mix of producers and buyers, has been steadily gearing up for self-sufficiency.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=91547JOHANNESBURG 06 January 2011 (IRIN) - The record prices of staple grains in 2008 made investment in agriculture an attractive proposition for countries exporting as well as importing food. The African Union (AU), with its mix of producers and buyers, has been steadily gearing up for self-sufficiency.]]>Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 30 December 2010 (IRIN) - This year in West Africa natural and man-made disasters - from floods to fighting - brought anguish and emergency assistance, and left communities, aid workers and analysts mulling the long-term causes.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=91494DAKAR 30 December 2010 (IRIN) - This year in West Africa natural and man-made disasters - from floods to fighting - brought anguish and emergency assistance, and left communities, aid workers and analysts mulling the long-term causes.]]>Wed, 24 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 24 November 2010 (IRIN) - Gay rights groups have hailed the results of the first study to show that an antiretroviral (ARV) drug can prevent HIV as an important step in the fight against HIV, but say that in countries that criminalize homosexuality, the breakthrough is unlikely to have a significant impact.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=91180NAIROBI 24 November 2010 (IRIN) - Gay rights groups have hailed the results of the first study to show that an antiretroviral (ARV) drug can prevent HIV as an important step in the fight against HIV, but say that in countries that criminalize homosexuality, the breakthrough is unlikely to have a significant impact.]]>Fri, 15 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT]]>ADDIS ABABA 15 October 2010 (IRIN) - As rural Africa experiences an increasingly moody climate which will erode resilience, drive up hunger and threaten economic growth, it is time countries got serious about development, participants at the seventh African Development Forum in Addis Ababa were told.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=90786ADDIS ABABA 15 October 2010 (IRIN) - As rural Africa experiences an increasingly moody climate which will erode resilience, drive up hunger and threaten economic growth, it is time countries got serious about development, participants at the seventh African Development Forum in Addis Ababa were told.]]>Thu, 14 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 14 October 2010 (IRIN) - With its coffers running at least US$1 billion short, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is looking to the private sector to fill the funding gap. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=90765JOHANNESBURG 14 October 2010 (IRIN) - With its coffers running at least US$1 billion short, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is looking to the private sector to fill the funding gap. ]]>Thu, 14 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 14 October 2010 (IRIN) - A new roadmap for curbing the global epidemic of tuberculosis aims to save five million lives between 2011 and 2015 and eliminate TB as a public health problem by 2050 but comes with a price tag of US$47 billion, nearly half of which must still be found.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=90767JOHANNESBURG 14 October 2010 (IRIN) - A new roadmap for curbing the global epidemic of tuberculosis aims to save five million lives between 2011 and 2015 and eliminate TB as a public health problem by 2050 but comes with a price tag of US$47 billion, nearly half of which must still be found.]]>Thu, 14 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 14 October 2010 (IRIN) - The emergence of an effective new meningitis vaccine, rather than a large-scale outbreak of the disease, has prompted the current vaccination drive across West Africa. Health officials say the vaccine marks a “revolution” in preventing the highly contagious and fatal disease.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=90773DAKAR 14 October 2010 (IRIN) - The emergence of an effective new meningitis vaccine, rather than a large-scale outbreak of the disease, has prompted the current vaccination drive across West Africa. Health officials say the vaccine marks a “revolution” in preventing the highly contagious and fatal disease.]]>Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT]]>ADDIS ABABA 13 October 2010 (IRIN) - If African countries had had the capacity to do climate change projections, their data could have been fed into the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) assessments for the continent, said Richard Odingo, former vice-chair of the IPCC at one of the discussions ahead of the Seventh African Development Forum.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=90751ADDIS ABABA 13 October 2010 (IRIN) - If African countries had had the capacity to do climate change projections, their data could have been fed into the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) assessments for the continent, said Richard Odingo, former vice-chair of the IPCC at one of the discussions ahead of the Seventh African Development Forum.]]>Thu, 16 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 16 September 2010 (IRIN) - The proportion of women in sub-Saharan Africa who died because of pregnancy fell by more than a quarter between 1990 and 2008, according to estimates released on 15 September. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=90490NAIROBI 16 September 2010 (IRIN) - The proportion of women in sub-Saharan Africa who died because of pregnancy fell by more than a quarter between 1990 and 2008, according to estimates released on 15 September. ]]>Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 10 September 2010 (IRIN) - Aid strategies for treating children suffering moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) have remained virtually unchanged for 30 years. As part of UN-led efforts to revamp policy, several initiatives in West Africa are examining how best to treat the condition, a major cause of death and disease worldwide.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=90440DAKAR 10 September 2010 (IRIN) - Aid strategies for treating children suffering moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) have remained virtually unchanged for 30 years. As part of UN-led efforts to revamp policy, several initiatives in West Africa are examining how best to treat the condition, a major cause of death and disease worldwide.]]>Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 07 September 2010 (IRIN) - As school resumes in Cameroon, some 1.6 million students in the north are receiving cholera-prevention messages via SMS, flyers, stickers and special textbooks, in a public-private effort to stem the country’s worst outbreak in 20 years.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=90414DAKAR 07 September 2010 (IRIN) - As school resumes in Cameroon, some 1.6 million students in the north are receiving cholera-prevention messages via SMS, flyers, stickers and special textbooks, in a public-private effort to stem the country’s worst outbreak in 20 years.]]>Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT]]>KOUSSERI 27 August 2010 (IRIN) - Northern Cameroon, as in much of Africa’s western Sahel band, has unusually high child malnutrition this lean season between harvests - high even for an impoverished region where poor nutrition is common and most of the five million people lack access to safe water and sanitation.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=90309KOUSSERI 27 August 2010 (IRIN) - Northern Cameroon, as in much of Africa’s western Sahel band, has unusually high child malnutrition this lean season between harvests - high even for an impoverished region where poor nutrition is common and most of the five million people lack access to safe water and sanitation.]]>Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 20 August 2010 (IRIN) - Aid agencies in Niger and Chad have begun giving tens of thousands of malnourished children a product called Plumpy’doz to save them from sliding into often-fatal severe malnutrition.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=90246DAKAR 20 August 2010 (IRIN) - Aid agencies in Niger and Chad have begun giving tens of thousands of malnourished children a product called Plumpy’doz to save them from sliding into often-fatal severe malnutrition.]]>