http://www.irinnews.org/irin-fp.aspxUpdated everydayen-gbTue, 15 May 2012 17:30:49 GMTTue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>KPONG 15 May 2012 (IRIN) - At the Kpong airfield, a few kilometres from Lake Volta in northern Ghana, Patricia Mawuli, pilot and co-founder of Medicine on the Move (MoM), a local NGO, is preparing her plane for takeoff. She is one of four health workers who fly weekly to isolated communities around the lake to raise awareness of the dangers of schistosomiasis, also called bilharzia.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95450KPONG 15 May 2012 (IRIN) - At the Kpong airfield, a few kilometres from Lake Volta in northern Ghana, Patricia Mawuli, pilot and co-founder of Medicine on the Move (MoM), a local NGO, is preparing her plane for takeoff. She is one of four health workers who fly weekly to isolated communities around the lake to raise awareness of the dangers of schistosomiasis, also called bilharzia.]]>Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 15 May 2012 (IRIN) - The UN Development Programme (UNDP) launched its first Africa Human Development Report today, stressing food security as a means to a better quality of life for all. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95459JOHANNESBURG 15 May 2012 (IRIN) - The UN Development Programme (UNDP) launched its first Africa Human Development Report today, stressing food security as a means to a better quality of life for all. ]]>Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 23 March 2012 (IRIN) - Health volunteers, aid agency and health authority staff are trying to immunize 111.1 million children under five across 20 countries in West and Central Africa against polio. The four-day campaign started today, but instability in some of the target countries could hamper the effort.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95145DAKAR 23 March 2012 (IRIN) - Health volunteers, aid agency and health authority staff are trying to immunize 111.1 million children under five across 20 countries in West and Central Africa against polio. The four-day campaign started today, but instability in some of the target countries could hamper the effort.]]>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.]]>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.http://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.]]>Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>LONDON 18 November 2011 (IRIN) - It will take two centuries for sub-Saharan Africa to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, according to NGO WaterAid, which calls on national leaders to commit 3.5 percent of their annual budget to the sector.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94241LONDON 18 November 2011 (IRIN) - It will take two centuries for sub-Saharan Africa to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, according to NGO WaterAid, which calls on national leaders to commit 3.5 percent of their annual budget to the sector.]]>Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>ADDIS ABABA 18 November 2011 (IRIN) - Increasing traffic accident deaths are a likely consequence of economic and population growth in Africa unless leaders on the continent, already beset by the world's worst road-safety record, implement a wide-ranging plan to address the second leading cause of deaths of young people, specialists at a major conference told IRIN.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94238ADDIS ABABA 18 November 2011 (IRIN) - Increasing traffic accident deaths are a likely consequence of economic and population growth in Africa unless leaders on the continent, already beset by the world's worst road-safety record, implement a wide-ranging plan to address the second leading cause of deaths of young people, specialists at a major conference told IRIN.]]>Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>LONDON 16 November 2011 (IRIN) - When nations gather in Busan, South Korea, for the fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, transparency will be up for discussion. A study by campaign group Publish What You Fund finds that most international aid donors are still not open enough about their aid programmes, and some offer no information at all.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94216LONDON 16 November 2011 (IRIN) - When nations gather in Busan, South Korea, for the fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, transparency will be up for discussion. A study by campaign group Publish What You Fund finds that most international aid donors are still not open enough about their aid programmes, and some offer no information at all.]]>Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 02 November 2011 (IRIN) - Information about how climate change may affect any city, town or village in Africa until the next century will be available by mid-2012 as scientists localise global climate data.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94127JOHANNESBURG 02 November 2011 (IRIN) - Information about how climate change may affect any city, town or village in Africa until the next century will be available by mid-2012 as scientists localise global climate data.]]>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.]]>Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>ACCRA 13 October 2011 (IRIN) - Ghana’s government is looking at ways to support people accused of witchcraft - mainly women and children banished by their communities to “witches’ camps” in the north - and to reintegrate them in their home villages.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93961ACCRA 13 October 2011 (IRIN) - Ghana’s government is looking at ways to support people accused of witchcraft - mainly women and children banished by their communities to “witches’ camps” in the north - and to reintegrate them in their home villages.]]>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).]]>Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>ACCRA 23 September 2011 (IRIN) - Tens of thousands of children work on Ghana’s cocoa plantations - often doing hazardous tasks when they should be at school - but change is coming.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93805ACCRA 23 September 2011 (IRIN) - Tens of thousands of children work on Ghana’s cocoa plantations - often doing hazardous tasks when they should be at school - but change is coming.]]>Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>LONDON 07 September 2011 (IRIN) - It is not often a technology guru will say, “Forget the internet!” but Ken Banks, founder of Kiwanja.net, advocates going back to basics – using mobile phones rather than the internet, and pretty basic phones at that.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93675LONDON 07 September 2011 (IRIN) - It is not often a technology guru will say, “Forget the internet!” but Ken Banks, founder of Kiwanja.net, advocates going back to basics – using mobile phones rather than the internet, and pretty basic phones at that.]]>Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>ACCRA 22 August 2011 (IRIN) - A bill before Ghana’s parliament aims to improve mental health care and encourage more health professionals to enter the sector by tackling one of the greatest impediments to both - stigma.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93563ACCRA 22 August 2011 (IRIN) - A bill before Ghana’s parliament aims to improve mental health care and encourage more health professionals to enter the sector by tackling one of the greatest impediments to both - stigma.]]>Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 09 August 2011 (IRIN) - Journalists and civil society members in West Africa analysed a “counter-terrorism plan” drawn up by the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) at a 4-5 August meeting in the Senegalese capital Dakar.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93458DAKAR 09 August 2011 (IRIN) - Journalists and civil society members in West Africa analysed a “counter-terrorism plan” drawn up by the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) at a 4-5 August meeting in the Senegalese capital Dakar.]]>Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 01 August 2011 (IRIN) - Recent condemnation of homosexuality by religious and political leaders in Ghana has led to a climate of fear preventing men who have sex with men (MSM) from accessing vital health services, say local NGOs.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93387DAKAR 01 August 2011 (IRIN) - Recent condemnation of homosexuality by religious and political leaders in Ghana has led to a climate of fear preventing men who have sex with men (MSM) from accessing vital health services, say local NGOs.]]>Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>ABUJA 13 July 2011 (IRIN) - Following years of discussion, representatives from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are now testing joint disaster responses in light of increased flooding and more severe droughts in West Africa over the past decade, according to the African Centre of Meteorological Application for Development (ACMAD).http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93222ABUJA 13 July 2011 (IRIN) - Following years of discussion, representatives from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are now testing joint disaster responses in light of increased flooding and more severe droughts in West Africa over the past decade, according to the African Centre of Meteorological Application for Development (ACMAD).]]>Mon, 20 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>LILONGWE 20 June 2011 (IRIN) - The malaria vaccine that has eluded medical science for decades is now within reach, with the final phase of clinical trials underway in seven African countries, including Malawi, where the disease claims 6,500 lives a year, most of them children under the age of five.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93024LILONGWE 20 June 2011 (IRIN) - The malaria vaccine that has eluded medical science for decades is now within reach, with the final phase of clinical trials underway in seven African countries, including Malawi, where the disease claims 6,500 lives a year, most of them children under the age of five.]]>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).]]>Fri, 20 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 20 May 2011 (IRIN) - New research on sleeping sickness in African cattle is holding out the possibility that in the not too distant future Africa could start seeing the introduction of cattle resistant to sleeping sickness - a disease which kills billions of dollars worth of livestock every year.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=92773JOHANNESBURG 20 May 2011 (IRIN) - New research on sleeping sickness in African cattle is holding out the possibility that in the not too distant future Africa could start seeing the introduction of cattle resistant to sleeping sickness - a disease which kills billions of dollars worth of livestock every year.]]>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.]]>Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>ACCRA 31 March 2011 (IRIN) - Health officials in Ghana are worried the rainy season, due to start in April, will fuel the spread of cholera, which has killed at least 69 people and stricken more than 5,000 in the past few months.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=92327ACCRA 31 March 2011 (IRIN) - Health officials in Ghana are worried the rainy season, due to start in April, will fuel the spread of cholera, which has killed at least 69 people and stricken more than 5,000 in the past few months.]]>Fri, 25 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>ASHANTI/GREATER ACCRA REGIONS 25 February 2011 (IRIN) - In his job as head of Ghana’s Buruli ulcer control programme, Dr Edwin Ampadu moves between delight over promising new medicines and frustration over long-held misconceptions that delay limb- and life-saving treatment; between victories like a young boy walking again and distress over a woman whose ulcer returned after surgery and skin grafts.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=92036ASHANTI/GREATER ACCRA REGIONS 25 February 2011 (IRIN) - In his job as head of Ghana’s Buruli ulcer control programme, Dr Edwin Ampadu moves between delight over promising new medicines and frustration over long-held misconceptions that delay limb- and life-saving treatment; between victories like a young boy walking again and distress over a woman whose ulcer returned after surgery and skin grafts.]]>