Weekly Round-Up - IRINAS-124: 20-May-07
U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network
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Asia
IRIN-AS Weekly Round-Up 124
14 - 20 May 2007
CONTENTS:
AFGHANISTAN-IRAN: UN, Afghan gov't call for humane deportations from
Iran
AFGHANISTAN-IRAN: Zahraa, "I was told to leave my home for good within
one hour"
AFGHANISTAN: Floods kill dozens, destroy hundreds of homes in northeast
NEPAL: No let-up for the rural poor
NEPAL: Grassroots efforts help reduce child deaths
PAKISTAN: Karachi violence stokes renewed ethnic tension
PAKISTAN: HIV/AIDS will not go away if you ignore it
PAKISTAN: UNHCR appeals for calm after refugee camp violence
SRI LANKA: WFP official calls for improved humanitarian access
SRI LANKA: Complex food distribution operation for displaced people in
Batticaloa
TAJIKISTAN: Abduholik Kamolov, "Instead of going to school I work as a
shoe polisher to help my Mum"
TAJIKISTAN: Efforts under way to control new locust invasion
AFGHANISTAN-IRAN: UN, Afghan gov't call for humane deportations from
Iran
United Nations (UN) and the government of Afghanistan have called on
Tehran to ensure that the thousands of Afghans who live and work
illegally in Iran are deported in an orderly and humane manner. Since 21
April about 85,000 Afghans have been deported to Afghanistan, Iran's
deputy interior minister, Mohammad-Baqer Zolqadr, told the Iranian IRNA
news agency on Saturday.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72127
AFGHANISTAN-IRAN: Zahraa, "I was told to leave my home for good within
one hour"
Forty-eight-year-old Zahraa lived in the eastern Iranian city of Zabul
for more than 12 years with her husband and two sons. On 8 May she was
deported to Afghanistan for illegally staying in the country. She gave
IRIN an account of what she said was her forced journey to Afghanistan.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72149
AFGHANISTAN: Floods kill dozens, destroy hundreds of homes in northeast
Flash floods and heavy rainfall have killed more than 24 people and
damaged over 530 houses in several districts of the northeastern Afghan
province of Badakhshan, the country's Interior Ministry reported on
Wednesday. Flooding also inflicted serious agricultural damage and
killed dozens of farm animals in the isolated and impoverished province.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72173
NEPAL: No let-up for the rural poor
Nepal's poverty is marked by unequal distribution of land, huge gaps
between urban rich and rural poor, poor education, weak health systems,
poor infrastructure, high levels of unemployment, and severe
malnutrition in many parts of the country, specialists say. According to
the government's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Nepal is one of the
least developed countries with a per capita GDP of $311.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72152
NEPAL: Grassroots efforts help reduce child deaths
Pneumonia, diarrhoea, under-nutrition, measles and acute respiratory
infections kill tens of thousands of children every year in Nepal.
However, community-based efforts involving local health care volunteers
are significantly reducing child mortality rates, say public health
experts. A recent report published by Save the Children (US) said that
innovative community-based approaches to health care in Nepal are giving
health workers the knowledge and tools they need to take action.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72256
PAKISTAN: Karachi violence stokes renewed ethnic tension
The Brussels-based NGO International Crisis Group (ICG) on Monday warned
of further ethnic tension in Pakistan following a wave of political
violence over the weekend in the southern city of Karachi. Its comments
follow the worst political fighting in Pakistan in two decades, when
more than 40 people were killed and scores more injured over two days.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72145
PAKISTAN: HIV/AIDS will not go away if you ignore it
Pakistan's HIV prevalence rate stands at 0.1 percent but the situation
is changing rapidly, with new data revealing that an epidemic is
concentrated in two risk groups: injecting drug users (IDUs), and men
who have sex with men (MSM). However, misconceptions about HIV, coupled
with the taboo nature of the groups most at risk, has meant that most
cases go unreported.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72164
PAKISTAN: UNHCR appeals for calm after refugee camp violence
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has appealed for calm after an
outbreak of violence at an Afghan refugee camp earmarked for closure in
Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province. At least three Afghan
refugees were killed and 10 others injured on 16 May during clashes
between the Pakistani authorities and residents of the Jungle Pir Alizai
refugee camp, 62km west of the provincial capital, Quetta.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72209
SRI LANKA: WFP official calls for improved humanitarian access
A senior World Food Programme official has called for additional
resources, improved humanitarian access and greater security for aid
workers who are helping 400,000 people displaced in Sri Lanka. Banbury,
WFP's Asia regional director, is concluding a four-day mission to Sri
Lanka, during which he met government ministers and donors and visited
internally displaced people's (IDP) camps in Batticaloa district.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72239
SRI LANKA: Complex food distribution operation for displaced people in
Batticaloa
Distributing food rations to over 100,000 people displaced by conflict
in eastern Sri Lanka is a logistical challenge. The World Food Programme
in early May was providing food rations to some 100,000 of the nearly
140,000 internally displaced people living in welfare camps and other
sites in Sri Lanka's eastern Batticaloa district. The IDPs have come in
waves over the last year, filling some 90 welfare sites and settling in
with relatives and host families.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72248
TAJIKISTAN: Abduholik Kamolov, "Instead of going to school I work as a
shoe polisher to help my Mum"
Every morning 11-year-old Abduholik Kamolov buys his supply of shoe
polish. Originally from Vahdat district, 27km southeast of Dushanbe, he
travels to the capital city with his mother, who carries milk and eggs
for sale. With the little money he earns from shoe cleaning, he
contributes to his family income.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72128
TAJIKISTAN: Efforts under way to control new locust invasion
Locust invasions in Tajikistan in the past few weeks have destroyed
crops and cotton plantations over an area of almost 45,000 hectares.
According to the Tajik Agriculture Ministry, the southern Khatlon Oblast
is the most affected area. Here 23,350 hectares have been invaded by
locusts. A little over half of the affected area was being treated.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72171
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