Weekly Round-Up - IRINAS-167: 16-Mar-08
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 167
10 - 16 March 2008
CONTENTS:
AFGHANISTAN: Food shortages cause grass eating, displacement
AFGHANISTAN: New envoy to boost coordination and reinforce UNAMA
AFGHANISTAN: Returnees struggle to find shelter (video)
AFGHANISTAN: UN Secretary-General warns of threats to "still fragile"
country
AFGHANISTAN: Kabul's air pollution putting people's health at risk
BANGLADESH: Poultry industry losses mount as bird flu spreads
BANGLADESH: Jobless rural poor rush to the cities
INDONESIA: Quakes shake nerves in West Sumatra
NEPAL: Rural poor pin hopes for better life on 10 April elections
NEPAL: IDPs being neglected by government, say aid workers
PAKISTAN: Domestic violence endemic, but awareness slowly rising
PAKISTAN: Unsafe blood transfusions pose HIV, hepatitis risk
SRI LANKA: Tough times continue for Jaffna residents
AFGHANISTAN: Food shortages cause grass eating, displacement
Food shortages in Ajristan District of Ghazni Province, central
Afghanistan, have forced some families to eat dried grass in order to
survive, local people and the district administrator told IRIN.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77195
AFGHANISTAN: New envoy to boost coordination and reinforce UNAMA
The UN says its "central" and "impartial" role in peace-building,
development and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan will be reinforced by
the appointment of the UN Secretary-General's new special representative
(SRSG) to the war-torn country.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77201
AFGHANISTAN: Returnees struggle to find shelter (video)
Thousands of Afghans have been returning home from neighbouring
countries in the past year with little hope and prospects. In 2007, over
360,000 returned. Under the government's current three-year plan, all
Afghan refugees are expected to come back by the end of 2009.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77093
AFGHANISTAN: UN Secretary-General warns of threats to "still fragile"
country
More than six years after the ousting of the Taliban, violence and
insurgency have intensified, and the scale of international support has
also grown in Afghanistan, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, said
in a report to the Security Council.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77235
AFGHANISTAN: Kabul's air pollution putting people's health at risk
Worsening air pollution in Kabul is "seriously" threatening the health
and well-being of its estimated three million residents, Afghanistan's
National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) has said.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77304
BANGLADESH: Poultry industry losses mount as bird flu spreads
Despite stepped up bio-security at farms and markets, as well as an
awareness-raising campaign on TV, radio and in the newspapers, bird flu
continues to spread in Bangladesh.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77223
BANGLADESH: Jobless rural poor rush to the cities
Mohammad Anwar Ali had never travelled beyond Satkhira District,
southwestern Bangladesh, but then he never had to. In Aat Ghoria, a tiny
village on the outskirts of Satkhira town, he was content living with
his parents, wife and three children.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77267
INDONESIA: Quakes shake nerves in West Sumatra
The Indonesian province of West Sumatra has experienced several
earthquakes over the past fortnight since a 7.3 quake on 25 February
sparked a tsunami alert, stirring up fears that another massive quake
might strike this seismically active region.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77245
NEPAL: Rural poor pin hopes for better life on 10 April elections
After witnessing so much violence over the past 11 years in Nepal, Laxmi
Motari, aged 60, was beginning to lose hope of ever improving her
impoverished life. "But now I am quite hopeful that things will change
for the better," she said, explaining that the Constituent Assembly (CA)
elections on 10 April could restore lasting peace.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77204
NEPAL: IDPs being neglected by government, say aid workers
Local and international aid agencies struggling to get internally
displaced persons (IDPs) back to their homes are concerned about an
alleged lack of government interest in their plight. Some 35,000-50,000
people are still displaced in various cities and towns, despite the end
of the 1996-2006 armed conflict, according to estimates by agencies
dealing with IDPs.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77249
PAKISTAN: Domestic violence endemic, but awareness slowly rising
Shahina Imran, 30, describes her marriage as "happy". She said she
"remains busy" all day with household chores, cooking for her husband
and two children and doing other domestic tasks at her home in Shahdra,
on the outskirts of Lahore. She does not see herself as a victim of
domestic abuse.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77226
PAKISTAN: Unsafe blood transfusions pose HIV, hepatitis risk
In her home in Multan, Punjab Province, Raheela Ahmed, aged 25, gasps
for breath as she struggles up the stairs carrying her youngest child,
Kulsoom. "I have been sick since she was born. I often feel weak and
dizzy," Raheela told IRIN. A blood transfusion she received during the
Caesarian section carried out to deliver her daughter is the reason for
her illness.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77271
SRI LANKA: Tough times continue for Jaffna residents
At around 5.30pm on 11 August 2006, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) attacked the front lines that separated the government-controlled
northern Jaffna peninsula and areas under Tiger control farther south.
The onslaught prompted the closure of the A-9 highway, the only land
link between the peninsula and the rest of the island.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77206
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