Weekly Round-Up - IRINAS-136: 12-Aug-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 136
6 - 12 August 2007
CONTENTS:
AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: Cross border polio campaign targets 40 million
children
AFGHANISTAN: Killing of de-miners suggests change in Taliban tactics
AFGHANISTAN: Health services under increasing strain in Helmand
Province
AFGHANISTAN: Traditional ecological sanitation system under pressure
NEPAL: Flood victims complain of lack of aid, slow delivery
NEPAL: Muslim women battle ex-husbands through the courts
PAKISTAN: Iodine deficiency affecting children in northwest
PAKISTAN: Malaria risk heightens in flood-hit south
SRI LANKA: UN urges investigations of deaths and more security for aid
workers
SRI LANKA: UN official says Sri Lanka pledges to improve security,
access for aid workers
AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: Cross border polio campaign targets 40 million
children
The governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan - in collaboration with
their partners at the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health
Organization (WHO) - have launched parallel campaigns aimed at
vaccinating over 40 million children in both countries against polio.
"Polio is silent and doesn't respect international borders," Melissa
Corkum, a spokeswoman for UNICEF's polio eradication programme in
Islamabad said.
http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73615
AFGHANISTAN: Killing of de-miners suggests change in Taliban tactics
The bullet-riddled bodies of three de-miners shot dead on 5 July in
Panjwai District in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar were
brought to Kabul on a UN flight on 7 August, officials told IRIN.
Abdul Hassib, Mirwais and Meva Gul, who had been working for Mine
Detection and Dog Centre (MDC), were abducted on 4 August and reportedly
sentenced to death by a Taliban court.
http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73618
AFGHANISTAN: Health services under increasing strain in Helmand Province
The number of patients and other people in need of medical assistance
has tripled in insurgency-hit Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, in
the last three years, provincial health officials told IRIN.
"Three years ago we had 20-30 occupied hospital beds at any one time,
but now that number has increased to 80-90," said Enayatullah Ghaffari,
director of Helmand's public health department, on 9 August.
http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73658
AFGHANISTAN: Traditional ecological sanitation system under pressure
Traditional dry vault toilet systems have been around for centuries in
Central Asia and parts of China where nutrients for agriculture are
scarce. However, some analysts say they are inappropriate for urban
areas, as they pose a threat to public health.
Most urban households in Afghanistan use specially-shaped dry vault
toilets which collect solid and liquid waste separately. Dry vault
toilets can be safe and they provide a ready-made fertiliser for urban
agriculture, supporters say.
http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73691
NEPAL: Flood victims complain of lack of aid, slow delivery
Thousands of families displaced by floods in southwestern Nepal are
gradually returning to their homes in remote villages but government aid
is still negligible, flood victims told IRIN on 7 August.
"The government needs to provide more relief and find a long-term
solution. Giving us only rice and dry food is not what we consider real
assistance," said Rampyare Harijan, a displaced person returning to his
village after 10 days of living in a makeshift shelter in Nepalgunj in
southwestern Nepal.
http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73617
NEPAL: Muslim women battle ex-husbands through the courts
Women in Nepal's minority Muslim community are increasingly contesting
through the courts the divorce settlements imposed on them by their
husbands. The women say they are the victims of an abuse of Islamic law
by their husbands.
http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73635
PAKISTAN: Iodine deficiency affecting children in northwest
Iodine deficiency is a major health problem in Pakistan. According to
the Islamabad-based Network for Consumer Protection, around 50 million
people across the country suffer from it.
Sumaira Khatoon, 35, is concerned by her youngest son's performance at
school. The boy, Farhan, 10, has failed his examinations twice and
teachers say he is "incapable of learning".
http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73606
PAKISTAN: Malaria risk heightens in flood-hit south
Health experts warn of an increased risk of malaria in flood-affected
southern Pakistan, as flood-waters triggered by cyclone Yemyin at the
end of June recede further, providing fertile ground for mosquitoes to
breed.
An estimated 2.5 million people were affected by flooding after four
days of torrential rain in Balochistan and Sindh provinces, leaving over
300 dead and hundreds of thousands homeless.
http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73648
SRI LANKA: UN urges investigations of deaths and more security for aid
workers
United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes has strongly
urged Sri Lanka to conclude slow-moving investigations into the year-old
killing of 17 humanitarian workers even as humanitarian agencies said
security concerns were slowing down aid delivery.
Holmes, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, also
called on the government to give better access for aid workers to
communities in need and to ensure the safety of local and foreign
humanitarian workers.
http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73621
SRI LANKA: UN official says Sri Lanka pledges to improve security,
access for aid workers
At the end of a four-day mission to Sri Lanka, UN Emergency Relief
Coordinator John Holmes said the Colombo government had pledged to
ensure more security for humanitarian workers but said he would wait to
see how well the commitment is kept.
Holmes, who ended his visit to the island today after talks with
President Mahinda Rajapakse, also said the government had promised to
improve access to resettlement and conflict zones for aid agencies whose
movements are now hampered by strict regulations.
http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73657
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