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Asia
IRIN-AS Weekly Round-Up 133
16 - 22 July 2007


CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: Civilians paying the price in Taliban conflict
AFGHANISTAN: Lack of institutional mechanisms to tackle human
   trafficking
AFGHANISTAN: Malaria cases set to rise in 2007
KYRGYZSTAN: Health officials seek to contain malaria
NEPAL: Emergency measures taken to control cholera outbreak
PAKISTAN: Over 30,000 displaced by Sindh, Balochistan floods
PAKISTAN: Leishmaniasis refuses to relinquish grip
PAKISTAN: UN launches flash appeal for flood-hit provinces
PAKISTAN: NGOs concerned about rising insecurity
SRI LANKA: Malnutrition rising in Jaffna, aid deliveries struggling
SRI LANKA: Children still forced to fight for Tamil Tigers
TURKMENISTAN: Country joins regional efforts to combat drugs


AFGHANISTAN: Civilians paying the price in Taliban conflict

The nascent national Afghani army has struggled to provide protection to 
civilians living under strict Taliban rule in many towns and villages in 
the south, which have a long history of resistance to occupation forces. 
Traditional village schools, or madrassas, are the primary source of new 
Taliban fighters.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73252


AFGHANISTAN: Lack of institutional mechanisms to tackle human 
trafficking

For Ali Shah Paktiawal, a senior police official dealing with social 
crimes in Kabul, it is not very important whether his country has any 
specific law against human trafficking or not.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73300


AFGHANISTAN: Malaria cases set to rise in 2007

Flooding, armed conflict and population displacements are factors likely 
to increase malaria cases in Afghanistan this year, public health 
officials warn.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73312


KYRGYZSTAN: Health officials seek to contain malaria

Kyrgyzstan is seeking to contain a malaria outbreak which has seen over 
40 people infected so far this year. However, health officials point to 
a 40 percent drop in cases compared to the same period last year as a 
promising sign they are making progress in the fight against malaria.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73271


NEPAL: Emergency measures taken to control cholera outbreak

Health bodies and UN agencies in Nepal have taken emergency measures in 
the capital, Kathmandu, and elsewhere to control a cholera outbreak 
first reported last week. Diarrhoeal diseases are endemic in the country 
but this monsoon season Kathmandu had a record 223 cases of cholera.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73294


PAKISTAN: Over 30,000 displaced by Sindh, Balochistan floods

Since floods hit at least 6,000 villages across the southern provinces 
of Sindh and Balochistan earlier this month, the misery of thousands of 
people has grown, villagers said. Heavy rains have aggravated damage 
caused by a cyclone that hit the coastal areas of the two provinces at 
the end of June, and the scale of the damage became clear only over the 
weeks that followed.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73256


PAKISTAN: Leishmaniasis refuses to relinquish grip

Shandana and Faiqa's family have never heard of leishmaniasis, a skin 
disease caused by the bite of the sandfly. While the disease, in its 
most common form, is completely curable and does not threaten life, left 
untreated it can cause permanent scars and brings with it considerable 
stigma.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73270


PAKISTAN: UN launches flash appeal for flood-hit provinces

The UN on 18 July launched a flash appeal for US$38 million to assist 
hundreds of thousands of victims of cyclone Yemyin, which ravaged 
Pakistan's Balochistan and Sindh provinces in late June.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73280


PAKISTAN: NGOs concerned about rising insecurity

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in Pakistan's North West 
Frontier Province (NWFP) have expressed strong concern over their 
ability to remain fully operational amid growing insecurity in the 
country.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73356


SRI LANKA: Malnutrition rising in Jaffna, aid deliveries struggling

Nutrition surveys by the Sri Lankan government and international 
agencies show rising levels of acute malnutrition in the northern Jaffna 
district. Livelihoods and markets have been disrupted by conflict and 
displacement, the closure of a major highway, and security-related 
restrictions on farming and fishing.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73286


SRI LANKA: Children still forced to fight for Tamil Tigers

Despite a ceasefire agreement signed in 2002 between the government and 
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), child recruitment has 
continued by the LTTE and the Karuna faction, which broke away from the 
LTTE in 2004, according to JoAnna van Gerpen, the UN Children's Fund 
(UNICEF) Sri Lanka representative.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73308


TURKMENISTAN: Country joins regional efforts to combat drugs

Turkmenistan has signed up to regional efforts to coordinate the fight 
against the drug trade, Turkmen media say. Turkmen President Gurbanguly 
Berdymukhamedov has signed an agreement with several regional states to 
set up a body to coordinate efforts to combat transnational crime, 
including the fight against drugs.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73260


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