
IRIN

02/09/2010
JIJIGA – Pastoralists’ disproportionate contribution to Ethiopia’s economy is belied by their marginalized status and by policy assumptions that they would be better off farming. But those who raise livestock tend to make the most of marginal land, according to experts, and are often proficient at adapting to changing circumstances.
Continue reading Pastoralism against the odds

IRIN

20/08/2010
Manya Andrews is a health communications consultant and former head of the international reproductive health organization, Populations Services International, in Togo. At a recent conference on HIV and couples, she spoke to IRIN/PlusNews about how she and her team had to rethink what they knew about sex to kick-start Togo’s male condom distribution campaign.
Continue reading The condoms had the thickness and sensitivity of a tyre

IRIN

09/07/2010
A new study has challenged widely held assumptions about income level in relation to HIV, finding that neither wealth nor poverty are reliable predictors of HIV infection in Africa.
Continue reading Money no protection from HIV

IRIN

09/07/2010
NAIROBI – Millions of people in parts of the western Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are facing a food and livelihood crisis brought on by structural causes such as the dependence on the mining sector and a poor road and livelihoods infrastructure, say officials.
Continue reading Food and livelihood crisis in the west

IRIN

06/07/2010
NAIROBI – Heavy fighting in the northern areas of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, has trapped many residents in their homes, with some unable to bury their dead, civil society sources said on 6 July.
Continue reading Mogadishu faces a catastrophe

IRIN

05/07/2010
NAIROBI – “Crowd-sourcing” is a new buzzword in the world of humanitarian information. The combined power of mobile phones, mapping technology and social networking can enable citizens in crisis to seek help, facilitate aid deliveries, bear witness to abuses and hold governments and aid agencies more accountable, advocates say.
Continue reading Finding space for crowd-sourcing in humanitarian response

IRIN

30/06/2010
NAIROBI – If a new bill seeking price controls on maize, wheat and other essential commodities is implemented, it may benefit the poor who have been priced out of food in the short term but is unsustainable in the long term, warn analysts. Kenya’s parliament recently passed the Price Controls (Essential Goods) Bill, which is awaiting presidential approval.
Continue reading Short-term gains of price controls outweighed in long term, say analysts

IRIN

28/06/2010
DAKAR – Nearly 17 percent of Niger’s children younger than five suffer acute malnutrition, a 5 percent increase over the same period last year, according to a national survey released by the government. More than 15 percent acute malnutrition is classified as a critical emergency by the UN World Health Organization (WHO). The report links this increase to the poor 2008-2009 harvests.
Continue reading Acute child malnutrition increases by 5%

IRIN

28/06/2010
JOHANNESBURG – “Out of sight, out of mind” explains why Southern Africa has been grappling with one of the biggest outbreaks of measles, a highly contagious viral disease, since 2009.
Continue reading Measles back with a vengeance

IRIN

28/06/2010
DAKAR – Without a major breakthrough in preventing and treating diabetes, the number of cases in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to double, reaching 24 million by 2030, according to the Brussels-based International Diabetes Federation (IDF).
Continue reading Diabetes cases to double by 2030