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Asia
IRIN-AS Weekly Round-Up 145
8 - 14 October 2007


CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: Boys' education slides in Helmand
AFGHANISTAN: Aid being pre-positioned to avert crisis in winter
AFGHANISTAN: Rate of refugee return slows ahead of winter
AFGHANISTAN: Over 155 civilians killed in suicide attacks, fighting in
   September
NEPAL: Poor in remote villages struggle to access health care
PAKISTAN: Owner-driven housing making headway in quake-zone
PAKISTAN: Teacher's murder heightens fear in northwest
SRI LANKA: New houses for some tsunami survivors, dashed hopes for
   others
TAJIKISTAN: Raising awareness of natural disasters


AFGHANISTAN: Boys' education slides in Helmand

More than 30,000 pupils who attended schools in Helmand province in 
southern Afghanistan last year have been absent in 2007, the provincial 
department of education told IRIN. About 102,700 students attended 
school in 2006, fewer than 14 percent of them girls.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74690


AFGHANISTAN: Aid being pre-positioned to avert crisis in winter

The government of Afghanistan and UN agencies are pre-positioning 
humanitarian relief aid in 18 provinces of the country before snowfall 
and heavy rains block roads and impede access to areas with rugged 
terrain during the winter and early spring months.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74710


AFGHANISTAN: Rate of refugee return slows ahead of winter

Fewer Afghan refugees are returning home from neighbouring Iran and 
Pakistan than in the summer when uptake of a temporary repatriation 
assistance programme was at its peak, especially in Pakistan.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74725


AFGHANISTAN: Over 155 civilians killed in suicide attacks, fighting in 
September

Over 155 Afghan civilians died in ground military operations, aerial 
strikes and suicide attacks by Taliban insurgents, US, NATO and Afghan 
government forces in September alone, the Afghanistan Independent Human 
Rights Commission (AIHRC) has told IRIN.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74755


NEPAL: Poor in remote villages struggle to access health care

Debu Rawal has walked nearly 20 hours from her remote Jagannath village 
to reach the health camp at the Kolti airport area of Bajura District, 
nearly 700km northwest of the Nepali capital, Kathmandu, to get 
treatment for her one-year-old daughter, who is severely malnourished.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74713


PAKISTAN: Owner-driven housing making headway in quake-zone

In October 2005, the home of Mohammad Saddique, a 54-year-old civil 
servant, collapsed in Pakistan's worst natural disaster in recent times, 
forcing him and his family to live in a nearby tent before rebuilding 
could begin. But despite the challenges, including rising construction 
costs, not only did Mohammad rebuild his home, he did so better.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74695


PAKISTAN: Teacher's murder heightens fear in northwest

Saadia Jan, 19, bites her nails uncertainly, as she perches on the 
window sill of her parent's house in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's 
North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Till a few days ago, Saadia had her 
future neatly chalked out in her mind. "I had decided to become a 
teacher. In fact, since I was 12-years-old, I knew I wanted to be one," 
she told IRIN. But, Saadia's plans are now in shreds.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74779


SRI LANKA: New houses for some tsunami survivors, dashed hopes for 
others

According to UN-HABITAT (the UN Human Settlements Programme), the UN's 
lead agency in post-tsunami reconstruction, at least 76 percent of the 
country's total tsunami housing requirements have now been met, with a 
little over 92,200 houses having been built in the 12 coastal districts 
hit by the disaster.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74692


TAJIKISTAN: Raising awareness of natural disasters

A series of activities to raise public awareness on natural disasters, 
disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness are under way in 
Tajikistan on 10 October to mark the International Day for Natural 
Disaster Reduction.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74729


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