http://www.irinnews.org/irin-fp.aspxUpdated everydayen-gbTue, 15 May 2012 17:31:02 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. ]]>Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 26 April 2012 (IRIN) - Sierra Leoneans are relieved that former warlord and President of Liberia Charles Taylor has been convicted by the Special Court of Sierra Leone on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95368DAKAR 26 April 2012 (IRIN) - Sierra Leoneans are relieved that former warlord and President of Liberia Charles Taylor has been convicted by the Special Court of Sierra Leone on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.]]>Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>FREETOWN 20 March 2012 (IRIN) - In southeastern Sierra Leone’s Pujehun District, the small village of Kortumahun sits at the edge of orderly rows of hundreds of thousands of bright green palm oil seedlings. Small groups of women weed the pots while men spray fertilizers and pesticides across the nursery.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95112FREETOWN 20 March 2012 (IRIN) - In southeastern Sierra Leone’s Pujehun District, the small village of Kortumahun sits at the edge of orderly rows of hundreds of thousands of bright green palm oil seedlings. Small groups of women weed the pots while men spray fertilizers and pesticides across the nursery.]]>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, 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.http://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.]]>Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>FREETOWN 22 November 2011 (IRIN) - Nurse Zainab Blell’s mobile phone has been ringing all morning at the Aberdeen Women’s Centre, a clinic in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital. After explaining to countless callers that this is a hospital line, Blell gets a genuine request for help and tries to get more details. “When did you give birth? When did you start having a problem?”http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94280FREETOWN 22 November 2011 (IRIN) - Nurse Zainab Blell’s mobile phone has been ringing all morning at the Aberdeen Women’s Centre, a clinic in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital. After explaining to countless callers that this is a hospital line, Blell gets a genuine request for help and tries to get more details. “When did you give birth? When did you start having a problem?”]]>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>FREETOWN 04 November 2011 (IRIN) - In Sierra Leone misconceptions about blindness are widespread, and people often blame blindness and other disabilities on witchcraft, but local and international work is being done to reduce stigma and open up opportunities, according to campaigners.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94138FREETOWN 04 November 2011 (IRIN) - In Sierra Leone misconceptions about blindness are widespread, and people often blame blindness and other disabilities on witchcraft, but local and international work is being done to reduce stigma and open up opportunities, according to campaigners.]]>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.]]>Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>FREETOWN 24 October 2011 (IRIN) - James Ponbu, 43,had his arm amputated by rebels in January 1999. After receiving medical treatment at the Connaught hospital in Freetown, he tried to return to his job at the canteen of Fourah Bay College but was not accepted back. He has found it hard to get work ever since, despite having a college degree. Even his friends shun him: “People barred me from entering their compounds as they thought I’d just ask them for money,” he told IRIN.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94037FREETOWN 24 October 2011 (IRIN) - James Ponbu, 43,had his arm amputated by rebels in January 1999. After receiving medical treatment at the Connaught hospital in Freetown, he tried to return to his job at the canteen of Fourah Bay College but was not accepted back. He has found it hard to get work ever since, despite having a college degree. Even his friends shun him: “People barred me from entering their compounds as they thought I’d just ask them for money,” he told IRIN.]]>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.]]>Mon, 05 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 05 September 2011 (IRIN) - A new disaster risk index launched by the UN University Institute for Environment and Human Security in Bonn could help donors and aid organizations better understand why some countries are more at risk of calamity than others, and shape their responses when disaster strikes.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93658JOHANNESBURG 05 September 2011 (IRIN) - A new disaster risk index launched by the UN University Institute for Environment and Human Security in Bonn could help donors and aid organizations better understand why some countries are more at risk of calamity than others, and shape their responses when disaster strikes.]]>Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 31 August 2011 (IRIN) - The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and NGOs operating in West Africa say the main barrier to more pit latrines in rural areas is not poverty or lack of resources, but a lack of understanding about costs and benefits.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93621DAKAR 31 August 2011 (IRIN) - The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and NGOs operating in West Africa say the main barrier to more pit latrines in rural areas is not poverty or lack of resources, but a lack of understanding about costs and benefits.]]>Mon, 08 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 08 August 2011 (IRIN) - When Marie Jalloh first ran for office in 2007, resistance to women in politics in Sierra Leone was so strong she faced harassment and intimidation from local authorities. Now, not only is she a member of parliament; she and other women, along with local NGOs, have brought the country closer to a legal quota for women in decision-making posts.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93448DAKAR 08 August 2011 (IRIN) - When Marie Jalloh first ran for office in 2007, resistance to women in politics in Sierra Leone was so strong she faced harassment and intimidation from local authorities. Now, not only is she a member of parliament; she and other women, along with local NGOs, have brought the country closer to a legal quota for women in decision-making posts.]]>Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 28 July 2011 (IRIN) - Cash for guns or buy-back programmes in post-conflict states have fallen out of favour as a method of ridding a society of weapons, and have been replaced by often elaborate schemes designed to remove money from the equation, but the debate continues as to the best way forward.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93354JOHANNESBURG 28 July 2011 (IRIN) - Cash for guns or buy-back programmes in post-conflict states have fallen out of favour as a method of ridding a society of weapons, and have been replaced by often elaborate schemes designed to remove money from the equation, but the debate continues as to the best way forward.]]>Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>DAKAR 11 July 2011 (IRIN) - No one can tell 64-year-old Fatoumata Kané anything new about the plants and tree bark around her town of Banamba in western Mali, but the traditional healer recently learned how to measure a child’s upper arm to detect malnutrition.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93199DAKAR 11 July 2011 (IRIN) - No one can tell 64-year-old Fatoumata Kané anything new about the plants and tree bark around her town of Banamba in western Mali, but the traditional healer recently learned how to measure a child’s upper arm to detect malnutrition.]]>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, 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.]]>Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT]]>BANGKOK 30 December 2010 (IRIN) - A century after the drawing of an anaemic patient’s sickle-shaped red blood cells came out of Chicago in the USA - a sketch that officially placed this still pervasive genetic disorder into medical books - confusion, discrimination and lack of treatment continue to surround sickle cell disease (SCD), especially in Africa where more than 200,000 babies are born every year with the disease.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=91483BANGKOK 30 December 2010 (IRIN) - A century after the drawing of an anaemic patient’s sickle-shaped red blood cells came out of Chicago in the USA - a sketch that officially placed this still pervasive genetic disorder into medical books - confusion, discrimination and lack of treatment continue to surround sickle cell disease (SCD), especially in Africa where more than 200,000 babies are born every year with the disease.]]>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.]]>Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 27 October 2010 (IRIN) - The perception that women are only ever victims of conflict ignores the large numbers of female combatants, which can result in their exclusion from disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programmes.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=90888JOHANNESBURG 27 October 2010 (IRIN) - The perception that women are only ever victims of conflict ignores the large numbers of female combatants, which can result in their exclusion from disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programmes.]]>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) - 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]]>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. ]]>