http://www.irinnews.org/irin-fp.aspxUpdated everydayen-gbTue, 15 May 2012 17:30:59 GMTTue, 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, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR/OUAGADOUGOU 04 May 2012 (IRIN) - Sahelian governments and local and international aid groups are struggling to cope with both the continual arrivals of people fleeing the regions of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal in northern Mali, and the mounting number of hungry people across the region as the lean season gets underway. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95410DAKAR/OUAGADOUGOU 04 May 2012 (IRIN) - Sahelian governments and local and international aid groups are struggling to cope with both the continual arrivals of people fleeing the regions of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal in northern Mali, and the mounting number of hungry people across the region as the lean season gets underway. ]]>Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>TILLABERI/NIAMEY 18 April 2012 (IRIN) - Small farmers in Oullam District in Niger’s western region of Tillaberi, faced with their third drought in seven years, are being forced to consider bundling up their few possessions and leaving for good the villages they have lived in all their lives.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95316TILLABERI/NIAMEY 18 April 2012 (IRIN) - Small farmers in Oullam District in Niger’s western region of Tillaberi, faced with their third drought in seven years, are being forced to consider bundling up their few possessions and leaving for good the villages they have lived in all their lives.]]>Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>MAO 16 April 2012 (IRIN) - With drought conditions chronic in the Sahel, many farmers give up trying to grow crops and head to towns and cities to find work. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95258MAO 16 April 2012 (IRIN) - With drought conditions chronic in the Sahel, many farmers give up trying to grow crops and head to towns and cities to find work. ]]>Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>BAMAKO 11 April 2012 (IRIN) - One week after the regions of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu in northern Mali were captured by rebel and Islamist groups, many Malians are trapped and have limited access to food and other basic necessities, while aid operations remain largely suspended.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95274BAMAKO 11 April 2012 (IRIN) - One week after the regions of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu in northern Mali were captured by rebel and Islamist groups, many Malians are trapped and have limited access to food and other basic necessities, while aid operations remain largely suspended.]]>Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>BINGERVILLE/DAKAR 02 April 2012 (IRIN) - Unpredictable rainfall in parts of Côte d’Ivoire cost some farmers over half of their harvest in 2011 producers told IRIN, but, armed with more knowledge about how to get weather reports and interpret them, they might still have been able to boost their output, say agricultural specialists.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95214BINGERVILLE/DAKAR 02 April 2012 (IRIN) - Unpredictable rainfall in parts of Côte d’Ivoire cost some farmers over half of their harvest in 2011 producers told IRIN, but, armed with more knowledge about how to get weather reports and interpret them, they might still have been able to boost their output, say agricultural specialists.]]>Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 28 March 2012 (IRIN) - Mali is facing its “worst humanitarian crisis for 20 years” due to a combination of food insecurity affecting around three million people, and conflict-induced displacement in the north.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95183DAKAR 28 March 2012 (IRIN) - Mali is facing its “worst humanitarian crisis for 20 years” due to a combination of food insecurity affecting around three million people, and conflict-induced displacement in the north.]]>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.]]>Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DIFFA REGION 22 March 2012 (IRIN) - Having spent a fruitless day in search of pasture in the searing heat, about 20 worried and exhausted Fulani pastoralists from Niger near the southeastern edge of the Sahara lie under the stars and mull their future. The next rains and green pastures are still another four months away - or maybe not, mused one of them - “only Allah knows”.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95126DIFFA REGION 22 March 2012 (IRIN) - Having spent a fruitless day in search of pasture in the searing heat, about 20 worried and exhausted Fulani pastoralists from Niger near the southeastern edge of the Sahara lie under the stars and mull their future. The next rains and green pastures are still another four months away - or maybe not, mused one of them - “only Allah knows”.]]>Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>FOUDOUK 06 March 2012 (IRIN) - Years of successive drought in the Sahel have driven millions of people to despair and death. Even the normally adaptive nomads, who range this southern fringe of the Western Sahara Desert, are finding life extremely difficult.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95017FOUDOUK 06 March 2012 (IRIN) - Years of successive drought in the Sahel have driven millions of people to despair and death. Even the normally adaptive nomads, who range this southern fringe of the Western Sahara Desert, are finding life extremely difficult.]]>Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>GAOUDEL/TILLABERI 27 February 2012 (IRIN) - No babies cry and the children are not even curious about the presence of strangers. “It is hunger and they are shy - they are not used to strangers,” explained one of the mothers, who is among a couple of thousand Malians who have crossed into southwestern Niger and sought refuge in the windswept village of Gaoudel, Ayorou District, after fleeing clashes between Malian government troops and Tuareg rebels.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94971GAOUDEL/TILLABERI 27 February 2012 (IRIN) - No babies cry and the children are not even curious about the presence of strangers. “It is hunger and they are shy - they are not used to strangers,” explained one of the mothers, who is among a couple of thousand Malians who have crossed into southwestern Niger and sought refuge in the windswept village of Gaoudel, Ayorou District, after fleeing clashes between Malian government troops and Tuareg rebels.]]>Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 24 February 2012 (IRIN) - Refugee numbers are rising daily in countries bordering Mali as fighting rages between the Malian army and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), which is fighting for greater autonomy for the Tuareg.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94944DAKAR 24 February 2012 (IRIN) - Refugee numbers are rising daily in countries bordering Mali as fighting rages between the Malian army and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), which is fighting for greater autonomy for the Tuareg.]]>Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DIFFA 20 February 2012 (IRIN) - For generations, Diffa, the arid southeastern corner of Niger, has benefited from being closer to Nigeria than to commercial centres in Niger: Staple grains, fuel, clothing and other items at attractive prices have made their way across the border.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94904DIFFA 20 February 2012 (IRIN) - For generations, Diffa, the arid southeastern corner of Niger, has benefited from being closer to Nigeria than to commercial centres in Niger: Staple grains, fuel, clothing and other items at attractive prices have made their way across the border.]]>Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 06 February 2012 (IRIN) - This year donors are stepping up more quickly to meet Sahel’s humanitarian needs compared to 2010, when they were slow to respond. However, they are still at fault for taking a quick-fix approach rather than addressing long-term disaster prevention and resilience needs, say aid groups.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94799DAKAR 06 February 2012 (IRIN) - This year donors are stepping up more quickly to meet Sahel’s humanitarian needs compared to 2010, when they were slow to respond. However, they are still at fault for taking a quick-fix approach rather than addressing long-term disaster prevention and resilience needs, say aid groups.]]>Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>BAMAKO/DAKAR 06 February 2012 (IRIN) - Some 12,000 Malians have fled fighting in the towns of Ménaka and Anderamboucane in northern Mali and reached already food-insecure villages around Tillabéri in western Niger, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Niger’s capital, Niamey.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94803BAMAKO/DAKAR 06 February 2012 (IRIN) - Some 12,000 Malians have fled fighting in the towns of Ménaka and Anderamboucane in northern Mali and reached already food-insecure villages around Tillabéri in western Niger, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Niger’s capital, Niamey.]]>Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NIAMEY 24 January 2012 (IRIN) - Nearly half Niger’s population does not have enough to eat and the government says it is facing a grain shortfall of 692,501 tons, following another severe drought across the Sahel.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94713NIAMEY 24 January 2012 (IRIN) - Nearly half Niger’s population does not have enough to eat and the government says it is facing a grain shortfall of 692,501 tons, following another severe drought across the Sahel.]]>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 19 January 2012 (IRIN) - Population growth and rising consumption by a minority of people around the world are fuelling global land acquisitions and Africa is a “prime target”, says the International Land Coalition.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94680DAKAR 19 January 2012 (IRIN) - Population growth and rising consumption by a minority of people around the world are fuelling global land acquisitions and Africa is a “prime target”, says the International Land Coalition.]]>Thu, 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, 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, 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.http://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.]]>Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 14 December 2011 (IRIN) - Aid agencies are warning donors to act now to avert another drought-related food crisis in the Sahel that could mean over 11 million people sink into further food insecurity, poverty or malnutrition.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94466DAKAR 14 December 2011 (IRIN) - Aid agencies are warning donors to act now to avert another drought-related food crisis in the Sahel that could mean over 11 million people sink into further food insecurity, poverty or malnutrition.]]>Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>WARRI 25 November 2011 (IRIN) - Two years after the Nigerian government granted amnesty to militants fighting mainly for development and job opportunities in the oil-rich Niger River Delta, violence has diminished, and oil revenues - which dropped at the height of the conflict - have increased. But analysts argue that the amnesty programme is flawed and will not lead to long-term peace. In the delta, former fighters are picking up their guns again, and resentment brews among those not included. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94306WARRI 25 November 2011 (IRIN) - Two years after the Nigerian government granted amnesty to militants fighting mainly for development and job opportunities in the oil-rich Niger River Delta, violence has diminished, and oil revenues - which dropped at the height of the conflict - have increased. But analysts argue that the amnesty programme is flawed and will not lead to long-term peace. In the delta, former fighters are picking up their guns again, and resentment brews among those not included. ]]>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.]]>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.]]>Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 27 October 2011 (IRIN) - Erratic rains and high imported rice and wheat prices against a backdrop of chronic food insecurity and malnutrition in parts of the Sahel, will leave millions of people at risk of food insecurity, according to the latest crop assessments.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94081DAKAR 27 October 2011 (IRIN) - Erratic rains and high imported rice and wheat prices against a backdrop of chronic food insecurity and malnutrition in parts of the Sahel, will leave millions of people at risk of food insecurity, according to the latest crop assessments.]]>