Somalia has remained on a strong economic reform path despite the various global and exogenous shocks that have continued to buffet the economy. Recurrent climate-related shocks, such as cycles of droughts, floods, locusts’ infestation, higher international commodity prices, as well as increased insecurity and conflict, have interrupted the country’s growth …
Some four million people in South Sudan are likely to face critical food shortages next month, British aid agencies have warned. But the Disasters Emergency Committee says the cost of mounting an appeal to pay for aid might outweigh donations. South Sudan's president has already warned of "one of worst …
Nepal has been consistently rising on Save the Children's Mothers' Index‚ with dramatic cuts in maternal and child mortality after the civil war ended in 2006 - David Wright‚ country director‚ Save the Children in Nepal KATHMANDU: Nepal rose five spots on Save the Children’s 2015 Mothers’ Index, overtaking Bhutan …
Bangladesh has secured 130th position, higher than India and Pakistan, in a list ranking the countries that are the best places for a mother and her children to be living in. The ranking, prepared by the children’s rights organisation Save the Children, also identified Finland as the best and Somalia …
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the spread of polio is an international public health emergency. Outbreaks in Asia, Africa and Middle East are an "extraordinary event" needing a co-ordinated "international response", the agency says. It recommends citizens of affected countries travelling abroad carry a vaccination certificate. It says …
At least 100 people were killed when a tropical cyclone hit Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region at the weekend, the government said on Monday, declaring a state of emergency and appealing for international aid. The government said hundreds of people were missing after the storm made landfall on Saturday. "Houses and …
With an eye on polio free status from the World Health Organisation next January, the Health Ministry wants travellers from seven countries — three where polio is endemic and four which have seen recent outbreaks because of virus importation — to undergo polio vaccination before entering India, much like some …
Nearly 260,000 people died during the famine that hit Somalia from 2010 to 2012, a study shows. Half of them were children under the age of five, says the report by the UN food agency and the US-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network. The number of deaths was higher than …
In 2009, Hassan Ahmed Hussein brought an industrial bread-making machine from abroad to install in his hotel in downtown Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. Hassan's idea was part business, part self-interest. Wholewheat bread is not available in Somaliland, and he envisioned selling it to small-scale vendors. He baked bread for …
Stresses on water supplies aggravated by climate change are likely to cause more conflicts and water should be considered as vital to national security as defense, the United Nations report said on Friday. About 145 nations share river basins with their neighbors and need to promote cooperation over a resource …
Press Council of India Chairman Markendya Katju today hit out at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, describing as “phoney” his claims of development in the state and saying its malnutrition rate was worse than Somalia. Mr Katju said Mr Modi had made tall claims about development in Gujarat but pointed …
Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju on Sunday hit out at Gujarat CM Narendra Modi describing as “phoney” his claims of development in the state. Citing figures, he said that Gujarat’s malnutrition rate was higher than that of poor countries like Somalia.
This paper addresses two related topics: 1) the circular link between food insecurity and conflict, and 2) the potential role of food security interventions in reducing the risk of violent conflicts. As the 2011 World Development Report notes, conflict comes in many forms. While the traditional security paradigm has focused …
ICDDR,B is spreading its technical know-how to African countries to help them overcome tropical diseases. Two doctors of the organization who are also experts in cholera management, returned home on Wednrsday after a two-week visit to the Horn of African countries-including Somalia and Kenya. They trained more than 50 health …
Two ICDDR,B doctors, also experts in cholera management, returned home Wednesday after a two-week visit to the Horn of African countries —Somalia and Kenya — where they trained more than 50 health professionals, including doctors and nurses, in cholera case management. Heavy rainfall caused increased fears of a wide- scale …
A tsunami alert was issued in Maldives yesterday after Indonesia’s geophysical agency reported a powerful earthquake off Banda Aceh province. Wednesday’s quake was measured at a preliminary 8.9-magnitude. The geophysical agency said it had not received reports of damage from Aceh quake or rise in water levels. Tremors were felt …
Famine is over in war-torn Somalia but the problems are not: Haweyo Ibrahim survives on meagre food aid handouts rather than return to her village, controlled by Shebab rebels who killed her husband. ‘Until the Shebab leave, I cannot go back,’ 40-year old Ibrahim said, queuing for food aid handouts …
The United Nations said on Friday that the famine that has killed tens of thousands of people in Somalia this past year has ended, thanks to a bumper harvest and a surge in emergency food deliveries. But conditions are still precarious, United Nations officials warned, with many Somalis dying of …
An exceptional harvest after good rains and food deliveries by aid agencies have ended famine in Somalia although conditions remain fragile and could worsen, the United Nations said on Friday. The U.N. declared famine in two parts of southern Somalia last July and extended the famine warning in September to …
The World Health Organization on Friday warned that Europe faces an explosion of measles cases next year unless it takes urgent steps to contain the viral respiratory disease. In the first nine months of 2011, 36 Western European nations reported a total of 26,000 measles cases, including more than 14,000 …
Global warming already is causing suffering and conflict in Africa, from drought in Sudan and Somalia to flooding in South Africa, President Jacob Zuma said on Monday, urging delegates at an international climate conference to look beyond national interests for solutions. “For most people in the developing countries and Africa, …
