Archive for October, 2007
The Pastoralist Way of Life – A Fragile Future For Millions of Children
Photo: Siegfried Modola/IRIN
A Turkana girl waters cattle, Oropoi, northwestern Kenya
IRIN – Pastoralist children in the Horn of Africa face some of the greatest challenges and are among the most vulnerable in the world, according to a new report by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The region, which covers parts of [...]
Are Biofuels A Threat to Food Security?
AFRICA: Food to eat or to run your car ?
Photo: FAO
Oil palms can yield crude oil for biofuel in three years
(IRIN) – As oil prices soar and biofuel production becomes more attractive, especially to poor countries, a debate is raging over its possible impact on food security.
Biofuel production [...]
43.7 Million Took Part in Global UN Anti-poverty Event
Over 43.7 million people took part in last week’s record-breaking United Nations campaign to “Stand Up Against Poverty”.
Citing figures from organizers, Marie Okabe said the event set a Guinness World Record as people from around the globe participated in a bid to push international leaders to deliver on their pledge to end extreme poverty by [...]
African Farmers Need A Financial Umbrella Says World Bank
Photo: IRIN
Small-scale farmers in Africa lead vulnerable lives
IRIN – Helping small-scale farmers in Africa cope with risks such as natural disasters, extreme weather events and price fluctuations should be a priority, according to agricultural experts and the World Bank’s annual report, released last week.
Exposure to these “uninsured risks [...]
Land Feud Claims More Lives In Kenya’s Mt Elgon district
Photo: Ann Weru/IRIN
Displaced people from Mt Elgon receive food aid
(IRIN) – A simmering feud over land rights in western Kenya’s Mt Elgon district was blamed for several killings there in October, as disease spread among those displaced by the unrest.
“At least seven people have been killed in the [...]
Water Problems in Somalia: a photo-essay
A thirsty child sucks futilely on a dry tap in Somalia’s Mudug province
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In 2007 the climate has been particularly harsh in Somalia: first, the heavy rains in neighboring Ethiopia caused flooding in central Somalia. But the rainy season itself was a disappointment, and water shortages [1] made it impossible to replenish the [...]
‘Slum Survivors’ – New African Slum Film Released
Photo: IRIN
Most slum dwellers never finish school and end up trapped in poverty
(IRIN) – Worldwide, more than a billion people live in slums, with as many as one million in Kibera, Africa’s largest such settlement, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. Slum Survivors, IRIN’s first full-length documentary, tells some [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Are There Any Benefits of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Kenya?
Western NGOs’ desire to help Africans has led them into unhealthy relationships with host countries, donor governments, and media, says Michael Holman. The result is that they share responsibility for Africa’s development disasters. Here are some excerpts.
Whenever there is the Group of Eight (G8) summit, look out for another contingent of professionals: non-government organisations [...]
Aid Agencies “Waste Money On Poor Fleet Management”
Photo: Ben Parker/IRIN
NGO vehicles travelling with armed escorts in Southern Sudan. Fleet Forum reckons millions are lost in inefficiencies
(IRIN) – Four-by-fours with bull bars and long radio antennas have become emblematic of relief operations – and a target for critics. Humanitarian agencies operate an estimated 70,000 vehicles and [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 4 so far )Time For a Grand Re-think of Grand Aid Plans
Aid donors should re-think their self-appointed role as saviours of the poor, and try more modest and realistic approaches, argues William Easterly.
Over the past five decades, the West has donated US$2.3 trillion in foreign aid to poor countries. Most of this money has been funnelled into a series of grand plans to eradicate [...]
UN Honours Kenyan Red Cross Chief
Photo: Julius Mwelu/IRIN
The UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, and the winner of the UN Person of the year in Kenya, Abbas Gullet of Kenya Red Cross Society
NAIROBI, Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) Secretary-General Abbas Gullet the 2007 United Nations in Kenya Person of the Year. Mr. Gullet [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Pioneering E-learning in Kenya To Boost Nurse Numbers
Photo: Keishamaza Rukikaire/IRINThe e-learning programme allows nurses wanting to upgrade their qualifications to continue working while they study.
An ambitious new e-learning programme is aiming to mitigate the severe nursing shortfall in Kenya and boost the country’s ability to manage diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
“In Kenya, 85 percent of [...]
Asian Countries Learn Flood Defence
Thailand under water
The UN has announced a new training programme to help Asian countries better plan for and cope with flood damage.
The UN University launched their flood risk assessment programme on 15 October 2007 at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand.
Water experts and officials from China, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka [...]
‘Mama’ Changed Way Of Life in Kenya Village
Kesa Kishida, 64, who has been aiding the residents of Kenya for 30 years, has been awarded this year’s Yomiuri International Cooperation Prize.
In Kenya, many people are still struggling with poverty and infectious diseases. Kishida has helped improve people’s living conditions, including hygiene and health care in the areas she has worked, and also has [...]
ZIMBABWE: The Politics Of Exclusion And National Survival
The author writes from first hand experience and with deep passion for her country where she has lived and worked nearly all her life. Her analysis and insights, historical and current, reveal an understanding of how people survive creatively, and hope that their lives may return to some form of normalcy [...]
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