Already the poorest country in Asia, Afghanistan’s economic base has long been too small to support its population of 40 million. Annual per capita income had declined from US$650 in 2012 to US$508 in 2020 and is expected to drop precipitously to US$350 next year. The report indicates that the …
The number of those who have lost their lives in the snowfall and avalanches in Afghanistan have soared to 216, chief of Natural Disaster Management Authority ( NDMA) Deam Kakar said Friday. "Our data collected so far confirms the death of 216 people including women and children in the avalanches …
Avalanches caused by a heavy winter snow have killed at least 124 people in north-eastern Afghanistan, an emergency official said on Wednesday, as rescuers clawed through debris with their hands to save those buried beneath. The avalanches buried homes across four north-east provinces, killing those beneath, said Mohammad Aslam Syas, …
A series of avalanches has struck north of the Afghan capital, Kabul, leaving at least 85 dead, officials have said. Heavy snow in recent days in Panjshir province and the Salang Pass has blocked roads, cut off villages and caused several avalanches. Acting provincial governor Abdul Rahman Kabiri told the …
This brief summarizes FEWS NET’s most forward-looking analysis of projected emergency food assistance needs in FEWS NET coverage countries. The projected size of each country’s acutely food insecure population is compared to last year and the recent five-year average. Countries where external emergency food assistance needs are anticipated are identified. …
India along with Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Laos, Vietnam and Afghanistan will participate in a three-day International Toilet Festival in the city, which will start on Tuesday to create awareness about the importance of toilets and hygiene. “The whole purpose is to draw the attention of masses towards the issue …
This National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for Afghanistan has been prepared by the National Environmental Protection Agency, with technical and advisory inputs from relevant government agencies, non-governmental organizations, international organizations and user groups at national and provincial levels. Its purpose is two-fold: firstly, to provide the Government of Afghanistan …
Senior officials of the governments of South Asian countries, and regional and international experts working in combating wildlife crime have descended on Kathmandu to formulate an action plan to combat wildlife crimes in South Asia. Over 50 participants from the governments of South Asian countries and other international experts will …
Using both types of polio vaccine could speed up efforts to free the world of the disease, research suggests. The oral vaccine is leading the fight to eradicate polio, but trials in India show an additional injection of inactivated virus boosts immunity. The World Health Organization said the findings, published …
In a startling revelation, an analysis for the Global burden of Diseases has suggested that estimates of the number of people living with HIV are 18•7 per cent smaller than UNAIDS’s estimates in 2012. The number of people living with malaria is larger than estimated by WHO. Significantly, the number …
U.S.-funded incinerators in Afghanistan unused, inspector general says Batteries, plastics, tires and aerosol cans tossed into open burn pits in Afghanistan, report says Although the U.S. has spent millions to build incinerators in Afghanistan to avoid exposing anyone to toxic smoke from open burning, American troops sent waste to an …
DUBAI: A Dubai initiative to provide potable water to five million people facing shortages in Asia and Africa has raised nearly $50 million (36.89 million euros), local media reported on Wednesday. The UAE Water Aid campaign, named Suqia, has exceeded its goal as the funds collected will in fact benefit …
Floods, storms and other natural disasters claimed more than 2,700 lives and caused around $42 billion in damage worldwide in the first half of 2014, but this was well below the first half of last year and a 10-year average, reinsurer Munich Re said on Wednesday. The world's biggest reinsurer …
While millions more children in developing countries are in school than was the case at the turn of the millennium, there is growing awareness of a ‘learning crisis’, with many of those in school unable to meet basic standards. In addressing this, the role of power and politics has been …
MUMBAI: When asked to name a strife-torn country in a dangerous neighbourhood, India may not be the first to come to mind. And yet, India ranks a lowly 143 out of 162 countries on the Global Peace Index 2014—two ranks below its score last year. While Iceland ranked number one, …
More than 80 bodies have been found two days after a devastating flash flood in Afghanistan's mountainous and remote north, a provincial official said Sunday, as police and villagers scoured the rugged terrain for missing people and Army helicopters flew in supplies to thousands left homeless by the disaster. Lt. …
Titanium and other metals found in dust at a base in Iraq have been linked to the dust found in six sick soldiers' lungs, according to a study set to be released Monday. "We biopsied several patients and found titanium in every single one of them," said Anthony Szema, an …
Discussion about water in South Asia – in particular the shared rivers of the region – is vociferous, antagonistic and increasingly associated with national security. Renewable water resources in the region have fallen dramatically on a per capita basis since the 1960s. India hit the ‘water stress’ mark around a …
Complacency in fight against the disease can cost India dear as Pakistan remains a hotbed for the infection, officials warn In a meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee, the World Health Organization (WHO) voiced its concern over the international spread of wild polio virus. Indian travellers to high-risk …
As the World Health Organisation (WHO) rated Delhi of having the highest level of air pollution, India’s air monitoring centre on Thursday dismissed the data released by the WHO calling the finding ‘biased’ and ‘misleading’. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) went on the defensive regarding the high suspended pollutant …
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday declared the spread of polio an international public health emergency after new cases emerged in various countries. Calling the outbreaks in Asia, Africa and West Asia an “extraordinary event” requiring a co-ordinated “international response”, the international health agency has recommended citizens of affected …
