The making of the Hyogo2 disaster prevention framework

JOHANNESBURG, 17 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - A month after the Indian Ocean tsunami struck in December 2004, affecting millions, 168 countries signed on to a 10-year plan to make the world safer from natural hazards. Yet the plan, the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015, focused primarily on “what to do to prevent disasters, but not enough on how to implement it,” says Neil McFarlane, chief coordinator and head of all regional programmes at the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). full report

Humanitarian intervention in violence-hit slums - from whether to how

RIO DE JANEIRO, 15 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - In a move that experts say could open the door to a more robust aid response to chronic violence in urban areas, the European Commission’s humanitarian aid arm, ECHO, has approved 2 million euro in funding for interventions in cases of violence outside of conventional war in Central America and Mexico until the end of 2014. If large-scale aid work in so-called 'other situations of violence' is the way of the future, there are certain things humanitarian workers will have to keep in mind. full report

The price of fear

RIO DE JANEIRO, 15 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - In slums where killings, rape, kidnappings and other criminal violence are commonplace, say researchers, lives and livelihoods are hampered by a force that is tough to measure: Fear. full report

Tracking vaccine scares

LONDON, 14 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - Vaccine scares have emerged as a major challenge to global efforts to eliminate preventable diseases, with rumours and conspiracy theories proliferating faster than health authorities can respond to them. Now researchers, led by Heidi Larson of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, are developing a tool to identify the first signs of these negative reports. full report

Analysis: Helping local aid workers build meaningful careers

DAKAR, 13 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - There has been much talk of decentralizing the northern-centric humanitarian aid sector to give more power to southern staff, but how much has changed over recent years? full report

Analysis: Getting governments to cough up for DRR

AQABA, 9 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - Investing in preparation for potential disasters is a “no brainer”, Elizabeth Longworth, director of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), told a recent disaster risk reduction (DRR) conference in Aqaba, Jordan. full report

Semi-synthetic artemisinin promises to boost global malaria gains

NAIROBI, 9 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - The UN World Health Organization has accepted the first semi-synthetic version of artemisinin, the key ingredient for malaria treatment globally, for use in the manufacture of drugs, boosting hopes that more people will have access to life-saving medication. full report

Analysis: Sending the right message on mHealth

NAIROBI, 8 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - We’ve read the stories: From bedridden patients sending text messages to their health workers, to young people receiving HIV prevention messages via SMS, the mobile phone seems to have morphed from communications device to essential life-saver. But is the evidence there yet that mHealth is an effective health delivery intervention for the developing world? full report

“Super-fly” threatens “Rambo” cassava, food security

JOHANNESBURG, 7 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - A tiny, rapidly breeding cyanide-munching insect, dubbed a “super-fly” by scientists, is threatening the food security of millions of Africans. full report