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Asia
IRIN-AS Weekly Round-Up 155
17 - 23 December 2007


CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: Humanitarian space must be regained - UNAMA
AFGHANISTAN: Child soldiers operating on several fronts
AFGHANISTAN: Aid being distributed to displaced families in Musa Qala
BANGLADESH: More aid needed, says World Bank official
BANGLADESH: High rate of school dropouts
BANGLADESH: Hundreds orphaned by Cyclone Sidr
INDONESIA: Bird flu preparedness a big challenge for East Java
MYANMAR: Aid in a tight space
NEPAL: NGO helps children traumatised by conflict
PAKISTAN: Swat Valley picks up the pieces after clashes
SRI LANKA: Frustration as tsunami reconstruction winds down


AFGHANISTAN: Humanitarian space must be regained - UNAMA

UN agencies and international humanitarian organisations in Afghanistan 
face "much tighter security restrictions" than before while the needs of 
Afghan people have "risen", a senior UN official in Kabul said on 17 
December.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75902


AFGHANISTAN: Child soldiers operating on several fronts

Children are being recruited and in some cases sexually abused by the 
Afghan police and/or various militias that support the police, as well 
as by private security companies and the Taliban, according to human 
rights and provincial officials.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75904


AFGHANISTAN: Aid being distributed to displaced families in Musa Qala

Aid agencies, Afghan and international military forces and provincial 
authorities in southern Afghanistan are providing humanitarian relief to 
1,500 battle-affected families in Musa Qala District, Helmand Province, 
according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and 
provincial officials.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75930


BANGLADESH: More aid needed, says World Bank official

Cyclone-hit Bangladesh needs and deserves more direct assistance than 
pledges from the international community, the World Bank (WB) has said.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75916


BANGLADESH: High rate of school dropouts

About 50 percent of primary and 80 percent of secondary level students 
drop out of school in Bangladesh, according to a report released on 17 
December by the Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), a Bangladeshi 
non-governmental organization (NGO).

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75937


BANGLADESH: Hundreds orphaned by Cyclone Sidr

Hundreds of children, if not more, are now believed to have been 
orphaned by Cyclone Sidr, which devastated large parts of Bangladesh's 
southwestern coast on 15 November, killing more than 3,000 people and 
rendering millions more homeless.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75963


INDONESIA: Bird flu preparedness a big challenge for East Java

For the crack medical team specialising in human avian influenza cases 
at the East Java Provincial Hospital in Surabaya, Indonesia, Panchu 
market represents their worst fear.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75938


MYANMAR: Aid in a tight space

Myanmar (formerly Burma), with a population of some 52 million, is one 
of the poorest countries in Asia, yet international aid had been 
negligible until recently. Aid flows are rising, despite the isolation 
of the regime, a tense political environment and limited humanitarian 
space, according to the former top UN official in the country.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75910


NEPAL: NGO helps children traumatised by conflict

Many children in Nepal have mental disorders caused by the decade-long 
conflict between Maoists and government forces, according to the Centre 
for Victims of Torture (CVICT), a local non-governmental organisation 
(NGO).

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75950


PAKISTAN: Swat Valley picks up the pieces after clashes

The scenic Swat Valley, in northwestern Pakistan, has for over a month 
been the setting for violent clashes between government forces and 
pro-Taliban militants. Over the past two weeks fighting has died down, 
with many of the militants' strongholds taken over, but residents of 
Swat Valley, home to around 1.5 million people, have paid a heavy price.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75903


SRI LANKA: Frustration as tsunami reconstruction winds down

The giant Buddha statue at Pereliya gazes out to sea. The noise of the 
waves slapping the shoreline is broken only occasionally by the sound of 
passing vehicles on the nearby highway.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75931


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