News…
ETHIOPIA: Families hard hit by food crisis
Mothers and children are being targeted as Ethiopia battles mass hunger. Drought, a shortage of resources and the global food crisis are helping drive hunger and malnutrition as Ethiopia faces one of the world’s most severe food crises. About 1.6 million mothers and almost 6 million children are receiving emergency food supplies through the United Nations World Food Programme’s targeted supplementary program.
China Admits Building Flaws in Quake
Authorities concede China school construction was sub-par and at fault in the death of school children during the quake related collapse. For the first time since grieving parents and rights activists demanded an explanation for the collapse of dozens of school buildings in China’s May earthquake, Chinese authorities have admitted the rush to build amid the country’s economic boom may have led to shoddy construction practices.
PAKISTAN: Traditional birth attendants can curb maternal and infant mortality
Pakistan is working to train traditional birth attendants to help reduce the country’s high mortality levels. Dozens of traditional birth attendants in Pakistan are getting medical training under a local aid group program to help reduce the country’s maternal and infant mortality rates. Traditional methods, such as putting cow dung on the umbilical cord to promote healing, have been found to contribute to health problems.
Child malnutrition crisis in rural Zimbabwe, say aid agencies
Aid agencies which have been allowed to resume work in Zimbabwe have reported a dramatic increase in malnutrition in rural provinces which were at the heart of the recent election violence… The government announced last week that it would lift a five-month-old ban on aid work in rural communities, imposed after Mr Mugabe accused agencies of backing the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. On Thursday, the Red Cross federation made an urgent appeal for almost $27m (£15m), saying the food security situation was likely to be the worst on record because of rocketing inflation and Zimbabwe’s shortage of foreign currency.
5 Afghan children killed in raids
Five more Afghan children died as a result of two separate NATO and U.S. military actions Monday. Dozens of Afghan civilians, many of them children, have died in recent weeks, inflaming tensions and leading President Hamid Karzai to demand changes to how foreign troops operate on Afghan soil.
UN urges Nepal to free children from Maoist camps
Nepal’s Maoist-led government should immediately move to free thousands of former child soldiers still living in camps, Radhika Coomaraswamy, special representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said Tuesday. Coomaraswamy is seeking access for the UN to ensure the children’s recovery and reintegration rights are respected.