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Cataract Surgery Programme in Northern KwaZulu-Natal
07 Oct 2019
It has been more than two years in planning and preparation, but finally it has arrived. A three-month long cataract surgery programme brought about by a partnership between the Al-Imdaad Foundation, the KZN Department of Health, Air Mercy Services and volunteer doctors from Turkish NGO, Alliance of International Doctors (AID). The cataract programme is part of the Al-Imdaad Foundation's Vision-4-Life eye care initiative which also includes a free eye clinic, which has seen over 2000 patients in two years of operation.
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Al-Imdaad Foundation teams respond to COVID-19 in 5 SA provinces and beyond
09 Apr 2020
Al-Imdaad Foundation teams in South Africa have been responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in partnership with Disaster Management authorities to help ‘flatten the curve’ and protect the elderly and vulnerable groups during lockdown.
Whatever happened to the ceasefire deal in Yemen?
10 Feb 2019
Yemen’s warring parties agreed a UN-brokered ceasefire for the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah back in December but, seven weeks on, deadlines have come and gone and much of the accord has still not taken hold.
Cholera returns to Yemen, with powerful allies
22 Oct 2018
The doctors and nurses at Hodeidah city’s al-Salakhanah Hospital know what a cholera outbreak looks like: they’ve seen the influx of patients complaining of diarrhoea before, the crying children afraid of needles and intravenous drips, the nervous family members at bedsides.
New health threats emerge for Sulawesi survivors
10 Oct 2018
Water shortages and cramped conditions are posing new problems in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province, where medical workers are reporting increasing cases of diarrhoea, skin rashes, and respiratory infections.
Toilets and tents: A week after Indonesia’s tsunami, survivors still need basic aid
03 Oct 2018
Frustrations are mounting in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province as survivors wait for help that’s slow to arrive nearly a week after earthquakes and a tsunami destroyed homes and villages and buried an unknown number of people under rubble.
Indonesia tsunami: Aid briefing
30 Sep 2018
Local authorities and NGOs are leading the initial rescue and relief effort on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in the aftermath of earthquakes and a tsunami that have claimed hundreds of lives.
How do you find one refugee in a million? A year after Myanmar exodus, “detectives” reunite fractured Rohingya families
04 Sep 2018
Bangladesh’s sprawling Rohingya camps are home to nearly one million refugees, but Atiqur Rahman Rabbi, a Red Cross aid worker, is searching for just one.
Idlib briefing: “Humanitarian catastrophe” feared as Syria war reaches final rebel stronghold
02 Sep 2018
As the Syrian government prepares to launch an offensive on Idlib province, humanitarians are on edge. Estimating the area may hold as many as three million people, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said he is “deeply concerned about the growing risks of a humanitarian catastrophe”, calling on Russia, Iran, and Turkey to seek a last-minute deal to avoid violence, while UN envoy Staffan de Mistura is offering to personally escort civilians out of the warzone.
In Rohingya camps, traditional healers fill a gap in helping refugees overcome trauma
02 Aug 2018
Only half those who need counselling or other mental health services have access to it.
A lost generation: No education, no dreams for Rohingya refugee children
28 May 2018
Aid groups have set up makeshift “learning centres” in Bangladeshi camps, but Rohingya parents say proper schools are needed
Fumbled repatriation sows fear in Bangladesh Rohingya camps
31 Jan 2018
It’s midday in Bangladesh’s sprawling Rohingya refugee settlements. A group of men hover under the shade of a tiny bamboo shack, trading strands of information about the topic on everyone’s minds: the future of several hundred thousand refugees here in the camps.
Rohingya who fled Myanmar a second time are certain: "We can’t go back"
16 Jan 2018
While repatriation plans inch forward, older refugees remember past returns gone wrong
What you need to know now about cuts to the UN’s agency for Palestine refugees
16 Jan 2018
The UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees says it is facing “the gravest financial crisis” in its history after the United States announced it was holding back planned funding. But the agency is also promising that services for more than five million people in the Middle East aren’t on the chopping block just yet.
“If the war doesn’t kill us, the food prices will”-For Yemeni civilians, the deadliest killers in 2018 may not be the bombs or the bullets
11 Jan 2018
Three-year-old Walid sits on a hospital bed, his bones and veins visible through his skin, tugging at the intravenous drip that is keeping him alive.
Identity and belonging in a card: How tattered Rohingya IDs trace a trail toward statelessne
04 Jan 2018
The pale green identity card in Nurul Hoque’s hands is torn and brittle. Time has faded the image of his grandfather, taken years before, to a ghostly outline.
How do you build a health system from scratch in the middle of a refugee crisis?
20 Nov 2017
Noor Mohammed groans in pain as doctors push a needle into his withered vein. He lies exhausted on a metal bed that has a cut-out hole in the middle of it and a plastic bucket underneath. His frail body is weakened by severe, constant diarrhoea. Noor says he is the sole survivor of a family brutally killed by soldiers in Myanmar. When he fell ill, neighbours in Bangladesh’s swelling refugee camps carried him to a doctor. But now he’s alone.
Malnutrition stalks Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
08 Oct 2017
Four-year-old Huzaifa stood nervously against a wall as a nurse recorded her measurements. Her stick-like arms hung limp by her sides and her ribcage protruded against the skin of her chest.
In Marawi, ending a siege is just the beginning
30 Sep 2017
Days after the Philippine military launched an assault on Islamist militants in the southern city of Marawi, the conflict came straight to Jamil Ampaso’s home.
Internment fears as Myanmar plans new camps for scattered Rohingya
19 Sep 2017
Myanmar plans to open new displacement camps for Rohingya in violence-ridden Rakhine State, sparking fears that members of the Muslim minority not already driven out of the country will instead be forcibly interned.
Myanmar: Scorched-earth campaign fuels ethnic cleansing of Rohingya from Rakhine State
13 Sep 2017
• More than 80 sites set ablaze in orchestrated campaign since 25 August • More than 370,000 Rohingya fled across border in less than three weeks • Testimonies show attacks were planned, deliberate and systematic
Rohingya exodus puts pressure back on UN rights probe
13 Sep 2017
While the international community mulls action, deep-rooted Buddhist distrust of aid groups grows in Rakhine State
Burma: Ensure Aid Reaches Rohingya
10 Sep 2017
(New York) – The United Nations, other multilateral organizations, and countries with influence should press the Burmese government to urgently allow humanitarian aid to reach ethnic Rohingya Muslims at risk in Burma’s Rakhine State. They should also ensure that adequate assistance reaches the more than 270,000 Rohingya and other refugees who have recently fled to Bangladesh.
Starvation threatens hundreds trapped by fighting in Philippine city
18 Jun 2017
Hundreds of people trapped in the southern Philippines city of Marawi are on the verge of starvation after four weeks of fighting between the army and Islamist militants.
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363 000 malnourished Somali children
17 Jun 2017
Some 243km slightly north west of Mogadishu, exists the ancient African town of Baidoa. Pre-historic rock art has recently been found on the outskirts of the city. The history in these parts of the continent runs deep.
Relief efforts for #CapeTownStorm and #KnysnaFire in full swing
07 Jun 2017
Cape Town – #OperationSA and the Al-Imdaad Foundation have launched an urgent appeal for funds to assist victims of the devastating storms and fires in the Western Cape.
As drought slashes rice harvest, 900,000 face hunger in Sri Lanka
27 Mar 2017
Rice harvest could be the worst in 40 years in the South Asian island nation, Save the Children warns
Record number of children killed in Syria last year - UN
14 Mar 2017
"The depth of suffering is unprecedented. Millions of children in Syria come under attack on a daily basis"
A Syrian refugee family’s year-long Greek odyssey
12 Mar 2017
By the time Ilida Alali was 16, she had been a prisoner in her own home for four years. Both government and rebel ordnance fell without warning on the hotly contested Karm al-Myassar neighbourhood near Aleppo’s airport where she and her family lived. In any case, she had nowhere to go. Opposition groups had occupied the area’s schools since she was 13.
Can aid come in time to avert famine in Somalia?
03 Mar 2017
The drought in Somalia is so severe it threatens not only to trigger famine, but also the viability of the age-old pastoralist way of life.
Foundation helps out by providing water
15 Feb 2017
Al-Imdaad Foundation project co-ordinator Ahmed Karrim had numerous requests from the community for water
UN rights envoy urges inquiry into abuses of Rohingya in Myanmar
08 Feb 2017
The UN should launch an inquiry into military abuses of Myanmar’s minority Rohingya Muslims, because the government is incapable of carrying out a credible investigation, the UN’s rights envoy will tell the Human Rights Council next month.
Italy and Germany step up measures to deter asylum seekers
12 Jan 2017
Those who thought Europe’s refugee “crisis” was over were reminded this week that tens of thousands of refugees remain stranded in Greece and the Balkans. Images of refugee tents shrouded in snow on the Greek islands have sparked outrage about the lack of adequate shelter, and scorn has been poured on the Greek government for keeping refugees in such miserable conditions. But others have pointed out that the real culprits are EU and member state policies that have closed borders and shrugged off responsibility for a more equitable distribution of the refugees arriving on Europe’s southern shores.
UN says Rohingya malnutrition rates rising during Myanmar military operations
11 Jan 2017
Military counterinsurgency operations are causing widespread hunger and malnutrition among Myanmar’s oppressed Rohingya minority, according to internal UN reports that directly contradict government statements.
The roots and risks of Myanmar’s new Rohingya insurgency
02 Jan 2017
Proghyananda Vikkhu stood in his purple monk’s robe in front of gleaming gold statues of the Buddha, recalling the night that a mob of nationalist Muslims attacked his monastery in eastern Bangladesh.
UN warns Myanmar that demolishing Rohingya homes will ‘heighten tensions’
01 Jan 2017
The UN has warned authorities that plans to demolish hundreds of homes belonging to ethnic minority Rohingya Muslims will “heighten tensions” in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where the military is accused of abusing civilians during counterinsurgency operations.
Myanmar says Rohingya rape and abuse allegations “made-up”, despite mounting evidence
21 Dec 2016
One by one, seven Myanmar soldiers raped Yasmin in her home, as she stifled her screams for fear of being murdered.
The Fall of Aleppo
12 Dec 2016
In a rapid offensive lasting less than a month, forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have recaptured the last opposition enclave in east Aleppo. On Monday evening, the army cleared street after street as artillery and air strikes pounded rebel positions northeast of Ramouseh district. By midnight, only a tiny speck of territory remained in opposition hands and celebratory gunfire lit the darkened skies over west Aleppo. On Tuesday evening, finally, news came of a deal brokered by Russia and Turkey that would see the remaining rebel fighters evacuate to opposition-held territory outside Aleppo, while civilians were to remain in the city under government control.
The Eastern Aegean is becoming Europe’s Nauru
27 Nov 2016
A 66-old Iraqi Kurdish woman and her six-year old grandson were burnt to death on Thursday night when a cooking gas canister exploded in their tent at Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesvos. The boy’s mother and his four-year-old brother, who were in the next tent, suffered severe burns. The fire was quickly put out, but as the camp was evacuated, some of the refugees started fires in their wake that caused widespread destruction.
EXPERT VIEWS-How to solve the escalating violence in Myanmar?
25 Nov 2016
Rohingya residents and human rights groups accuse the military and border guard forces of raping Rohingya women, torching houses and killing civilians
Mediterranean death toll soars, 2016 is deadliest year yet
22 Nov 2016
With two months still to go, deaths of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean hit all-time high
Al-Imdaad Foundation helps stroke victim
21 Nov 2016
Mr Mc Todd says the commode has really improved his quality of life and is saving him the pain and effort of going upstairs with the broken ribs he sustained in the fall
Buddhist aid workers face backlash for helping Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims
14 Nov 2016
Soe Aung works for an international aid agency in his hometown of Sittwe, the capital of Myanmar’s Rakhine State. It’s a good job, but he isn’t eager to discuss it in a public setting or outside his close circle of friends and family. That’s because his agency helps Rohingya Muslims.
Visiting needy communities
10 Nov 2016
The Al-Imdaad Foundation had made a number of small but meaningful interventions at the crèche including providing mattresses, face towels, water buckets
Offering medical services to those in need
04 Nov 2016
The Islamic Educational Centre (IEC), in collaboration with the Islamic Medical Association (IMA) Ladysmith, hosted a breast cancer awareness campaign on Saturday, October 15.
East Lancashire charity aid for hurricane-hit Caribbean
04 Nov 2016
AN East Lancashire charity has sent response teams to Haiti to offer support and aid after the recent hurricane damage. Al-Imdaad Foundation members flew out to the Caribbean country after Hurricane Matthew caused widespread devastation damaging homes and communities and claiming around 1,000 lives.
Al-Imdaad Foundation co-ordinator wins Community Builder Award
27 Oct 2016
Al-Imdaad Foundation co-ordinator wins Community Builder Award
Al-Imdaad Foundation coordinator wins Community Builder Award 2016
27 Oct 2016
On October 21st 2016, at the Minara Business Chamber Awards Gala dinner, the Al-Imdaad Foundation’s local project coordinator, Abed Karrim took the Community Builder Award 2016.
In parched Sri Lanka, biggest shortage is of water policy - experts
18 Oct 2016
As the country cycles between drought and floods, managing water better is crucial, experts say
SA team lends helping hand in Haiti
12 Oct 2016
A local humanitarian organisation, Al Imdaad Foundation says it's already deployed a team of ten members on the ground in Haiti where the death toll from Hurricane Matthew has passed 1000.
The politics of food aid in Myanmar’s Rakhine state
10 Oct 2016
In Myanmar’s Rakhine state, even food is political.
Horrors left by Hurricane Matthew become clear in Haiti
07 Oct 2016
The full scale of the devastation in rural parts of storm-hit Haiti became clear as the death toll soared to nearly 900 three days after Hurricane Matthew levelled huge swaths of the country’s south.
Syria: Aleppo “One of the most devastating urban conflicts in modern times"
14 Aug 2016
The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, has described the fight for the Syrian city of Aleppo as one of the most devastating conflicts in modern times. Fighting has been intensifying during the past weeks with hundreds of people killed and untold numbers injured. Public services have all but broken down. Tens of thousands are trapped and without aid.
“The new terrible”- Lake Chad region in desperate need
12 Aug 2016
A deepening but often overlooked humanitarian crisis in West Africa’s Lake Chad region has been described “as the new terrible” by the UN’s top relief official, Stephen O’Brien.
Fears grow for Aleppo residents amid latest violence
08 Aug 2016
Fresh fighting threatens hundreds of thousands of lives, driving shortages of food, medical supplies and mass displacements.
244,000 hungry children
05 Aug 2016
The Boko Haram insurgency has led to a food crisis the extent of which is only now being uncovered
Search for flood victims continues
05 Aug 2016
Al Imdaad Foundation workers provide blankets, hygiene packs and snack packs to flood-hit residents of uMlazi and Isipingo.
Massive effort to find flash flood missing
05 Aug 2016
Volunteers kit up to join the search for Brenda Lynn Scriven at Durban's Blue Lagoon. Picture: Motshwari Mofokeng. Credit: INDEPENDENT MEDIA
Al-Imdaad Foundation and Air Mercy take to the skies again
29 Jul 2016
With a successful series of flights in 2015 that saw distributions of winter blankets targeting four hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal’s uMkhanyakude district, the repeat of the programme was agreed upon by all parties. This year, blankets and winter hats were flown in for distribution at the East Griqualand and Usher Hospital on the outskirts of Kokstad…
Syrians make easy scapegoats in Lebanon
27 Jul 2016
The Baalbek International Festival is in town. Under silvery bunting, telltale tourists drift around in shorts in the sleepy mid-afternoon heat.
What happens to teenage migrants in Sicily?
13 Jul 2016
“The most difficult part was crossing the desert. Three days and three nights, you walk and walk and you look around and it is only desert,” recalls Musa*, 18, from Gambia. He survived the Sahara crossing only to endure forced labour and violence in Libya.
Will Myanmar’s Rohingya finally become citizens in their own country?
08 Jul 2016
Under intense pressure from the United States, Myanmar's new government is struggling to resolve one of its most pressing problems: it’s launched a programme aimed at providing citizenship to the Rohingya, an ethnic and religious minority who live under apartheid-like conditions.
Last boat from Lesvos: Asylum seeker stowaways try to reach the Greek mainland
03 Jul 2016
Every evening in Mytilene, capital of the Greek island of Lesvos, dozens of young Arab and African men gather at the base of a statue modelled, fittingly, after America’s Statue of Liberty. It overlooks the port, offering a good view of the entry gates, the parking lot, passengers emerging from taxis, and trucks loading shipping containers onto the large ferry that leaves for Athens at 8pm.
Unknown and exploited: Europe’s new arrivals
28 Jun 2016
Border closures have led to a migrant smuggling boom in the Balkans. Migrant smuggling and trafficking routes through the western Balkans that went dormant during the latter half of 2015 and early 2016 when migrants and refugees were allowed to move freely between Greece and northern Europe have re-emerged in the wake of border closures imposed nearly four months ago.
After devastating floods and landslides, Sri Lanka plans new building code
30 May 2016
Sri Lanka will enact a new, nationwide building code to mitigate the risks of future floods after heavy rain inundated the capital city, Colombo, and triggered landslides in the mountainous central region, killing about 200 people.
NGOs, volunteers working hard to assist those displaced by heavy rains
11 May 2016
Local NGOs and volunteers have been working around the clock to ensure that those left homeless after the weekend's heavy rains don't go hungry.
Aleppo: Inside a city beyond the brink
06 May 2016
Once Syria’s most populous city, Aleppo is now a humanitarian disaster zone. As fighting intensifies in several districts and bombs again rain down from the sky, tens of thousands of Syria’s forgotten civilians try to survive on the frontlines, dodging missiles and hiding from snipers.
Welcome to the City Plaza: Greece’s refugee hotel
05 May 2016
The new residents of the City Plaza Hotel in downtown Athens can check out any time they like but, for now at least, they cannot leave Greece.
The race to help Ecuador
25 Apr 2016
Search-and-rescue teams continued to pull survivors from the rubble left by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Ecuador on Saturday evening, but some remoter coastal communities remained out of their reach with roads collapsed or blocked by landslides.
Send us food not volunteers, says quake-hit Ecuador
18 Apr 2016
Calls for donations have flooded social media since Ecuador’s worst earthquake in decades left a trail of destruction along the country’s Pacific Coast on 16 April.
Where are the Rohingya boat survivors now?
16 Apr 2016
No happy ending for Myanmar refugees- When Malaysia allowed hundreds of Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants abandoned by their smugglers and left adrift on the Andaman Sea to come ashore last May, it marked the end of a regional diplomatic stalemate that had left thousands of lives in the balance and garnered international headlines.
Dams in parts of KZN have long run dry
13 Apr 2016
Dams have long run dry in Ilembe District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
Greek asylum system reaches breaking point
30 Mar 2016
As Greece prepares to deport an initial 500 migrants and refugees on Monday under a controversial agreement between the EU and Turkey, senior Greek officials say the pressure to process applications quickly has become too great, at the expense of legal and ethical standards.
It’s not just in Greece that refugees are stranded
22 Mar 2016
Indonesia used a regional meeting on migration in Bali on Wednesday to pressure Australia to take in more of the refugees who have become stranded in the Southeast Asian nation as a result of Canberra’s controversial policy of turning back asylum seeker boats.
Relief for Eastern Cape hailstorm victims
08 Feb 2016
East London – Help is being provided to more than 50 families left homeless after a hailstorm in the Eastern Cape that killed one woman.
Where in the world is Zika?
08 Feb 2016
LONDON, 3 February 2016 (IRIN) - The World Health Organization has declared that the strong links between Zika infection during pregnancy and microcephaly should be treated as a global public health emergency. IRIN maps the range of the Aedes aegypti mosquito and the Zika virus it spreads.
139 children die in one month in drought-hit Pakistan district
08 Feb 2016
THARPARKAR DISTRICT, Pakistan, 4 February 2016 (IRIN) - At least 139 children died of waterborne disease in January in Pakistan's impoverished desert district of Tharparkar, which has been devastated by drought since 2013.
Zika: Are mosquitoes the cure as well as the curse?
04 Feb 2016
OXFORD, 5 February 2016 (IRIN) - As the Zika virus continues its relentless spread through Latin America and beyond, causing anguish for would-be parents and leaving a trail of children with severe and lifelong developmental problems, the search to find a way of stopping the pandemic in its tracks could not be more urgent. But an effective vaccine will likely take years to develop and current methods for eliminating the Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries the virus are only partially effective.
Woman killed in Eastern Cape hail storm
03 Feb 2016
East London - An elderly woman was killed, several people were injured, and homes damaged by a heavy hailstorm in the Eastern Cape, a municipal spokesperson said on Thursday.
The axis of generosity
02 Feb 2016
LONDON, 3 February 2016 (IRIN) - As a major funding conference opens in London, IRIN has run the numbers. Which countries can claim to be doing the most for the Syria crisis? We compare 29 aid donors (to Syria, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan) and refugee-hosting countries. See the most generous countries
Al-Imdaad Foundation Provides reserve water to eThekwini Schools
02 Feb 2016
On Wednesday, 3 February 2016 the Al-Imdaad Foundation, together with the eThekwini Deputy Mayor and poverty eradication programme Operation Sukuma Sakhe conducted distributions of 5 litre bottled water to 4 schools in the Waterloo and Seatide areas north of Durban.
Stop scapegoating Greece
01 Feb 2016
MYTILINE, 2 February 2016 (IRIN) - Fotini Rantsiou is a volunteer aid worker and field advisor for Greek NGO, Solidarity Now. She is based on Lesvos while on a leave of absence from the UN’s emergency aid coordination body OCHA.
Somalia offers Yemenis a safer home
01 Feb 2016
GARDO, 2 February 2016 (IRIN) - Somalia is the new home for 30,560 people who have fled the fighting in Yemen and are trying to adjust to life in a country that – while no longer written off as a “failed state” – certainly has its challenges
Burundi - nobody to the rescue?
01 Feb 2016
NAIROBI, 29 January 2016 (IRIN) - It’s almost a given that African leaders meeting this weekend in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, will not override Burundi’s objections and endorse the deployment of a 5,000-strong intervention force to help end the violence in the troubled country.
Zika virus takes hold in Colombia
31 Jan 2016
Bogotá, 1 February 2016 (IRIN) - Since being infected with the Zika virus a month ago, Wendy Johana Castillo has been experiencing pain all over her body, a recurring fever and a skin rash. But the 23-year-old Colombian is more concerned about her unborn baby.
EU laws designed to deter refugees
28 Jan 2016
OXFORD, 27 January 2016 (IRIN) - A new Danish law that will allow police to search asylum seekers arriving in the country and confiscate any cash or valuables worth more than 10,000 kroner ($1,460) has been widely condemned by refugee and human rights groups. But it is only the latest among a raft of new laws introduced by EU member states in the past six months aimed at deterring asylum seekers from lodging claims on their territory.
Southern Africa’s food crisis in numbers*
28 Jan 2016
NAIROBI, 28 January 2016 (IRIN) - Southern Africa is facing the threat of extensive crop failures this year as a result of record low rainfall in a region in which 29 million people already don't have reliable access to enough affordable and nutritious food.
Smuggling oxygen on a camel
18 Jan 2016
Before the war in Yemen, Lewa Abdurrahman worked in construction. Times have changed. As the owner of a donkey, he has become an integral part of the illicit economy that has sprouted up around the besieged city of Taiz.
Uganda’s Karamoja faces drought emergency
18 Jan 2016
KAMPALA, 19 January 2016 (IRIN) - At least 640,000 people in Uganda’s northeastern Karamoja region – more than half its population – are facing food shortages as a result of a drought-affected harvest.
Briefing: All you need to know about sieges in Syria
13 Jan 2016
LONDON, 12 January 2016 (IRIN) - At precisely the same time as aid lorries pulled into the besieged Syrian village of Madaya on Monday, too late to save those who had already starved to death, convoys also entered the besieged areas of Fua and Kefraya.
An unwanted guest: El Niño and Africa in 2016
08 Jan 2016
NAIROBI, 23 December 2015 (IRIN) - El Niño is the largely unwanted Christmas gift – a warming of the tropical Pacific causing drought and floods that will peak at the end of this month, but will impact weather systems around the globe into 2016.
Jordan cracks (down) under refugee pressure
07 Jan 2016
AMMAN, 6 January 2016 (IRIN) - The Sudanese asylum seekers and refugees had been protesting for more than a month when the police came to deport them late December. Hundreds were camped outside the Amman offices of the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, driven to desperate measures by poverty and hopelessness in Jordan, where life for many has been on hold for years.
How 150,000 people were saved in the Mediterranean
06 Jan 2016
ROME, 7 January 2016 (IRIN) - “Please, sir, please! This is very serious. My engine is off and I have children and pregnant women.” The desperate plea comes from a rubber dinghy packed with 112 people who set off from the Libyan coast in the hope of reaching Europe.
Temporary drought relief for Aliwal North
05 Jan 2016
Extra water released from the Katse Dam at the end of last year is expected to reach drought-stricken Aliwal North today.
Syrian peace talks lost in a fog of war
05 Jan 2016
JERUSALEM, 28 January 2016 (IRIN) - “Five years of conflict have been too much. The horror is in front of everyone’s eyes… You have seen enough conferences, two of them already taken place. This one cannot fail.”
Needy family given a home
16 Dec 2015
A FAMILY of 11 poverty stricken women and children were given a new lease on life with a new home in Cottonlands recently.
Al-Imdaad sends 250 tons of flour to Syria
14 Dec 2015
After more than four years of civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced more than half the population, Syria is still a country divided. A variety of actors are locked in a power struggle including President Bashar al-Assad’s troops, Kurdish forces, the al-Nusra front, the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other armed factions.
Historic Humanitarian aid Convoy into Gaza Launched by the Al-Imdaad Foundation
18 Nov 2015
After almost 7 months of diplomatic and bureaucratic wrangling, the Al-Imdaad Foundation’s Jordanian office has successfully launched the first of its kind humanitarian aid convoy from Jordan to the Gaza strip. The convoy will help address the dire conditions many Gazans find themselves facing with poverty and unemployment having risen to their highest recorded levels. Similar convoys have taken place in the past but ever since the closing of the Rafah crossing with Egypt no new avenue has been available. It is hoped that this convoy will bring in a new era of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza.
Comment: "We can do better" - a volunteer’s perspective of Europe’s refugee response
04 Nov 2015
LESVOS, 5 November 2015 (IRIN) - I didn’t come to Lesvos as a volunteer. I came as a journalist, to report truthfully what I saw there. But in those crucial, urgent moments – when a few people struggle to feed 2,000 or screaming women hold their infants out to you from a storm-battered boat and there is simply no one else to put out their hands and help, you can’t just stand there and ask for an interview. At least, I couldn’t. So my five days on the island became five weeks. And it was in the act of volunteering whatever support was needed that I found the real story of the refugees: the story of how apathy and mismanagement turned a crisis into a tragedy.
Five ways Europe could save refugee lives this winter
02 Nov 2015
As the death toll mounts in the Eastern Mediterranean, with stormy seas claiming the lives of at least 70 refugees in the last week of October, many of them children, the EU’s slow and fragmented response to the refugee crisis is looking increasingly ineffectual.
KZN declared a disaster area
29 Oct 2015
KwaZulu-Natal has been declared a disaster area.This follows a severe drought that has cost government hundreds of millions of rand. Strict water restrictions have been put in place in many areas to try and save water.
KZN Premier, Mr Senzo Mchunu visits the Al-Imdaad Foundation head office
29 Oct 2015
On Wednesday, October 28th 2015, the Honourable Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Mr Senzo Mchunu made a visit to the head office of the Al-Imdaad Foundation in the town of Estcourt in Northern KwaZulu-Natal. The small town was abuzz with the sound of sirens as the premier and his entourage made their appearance as part of a tour of local and district municipalities in the region.
Pakistan quake: new building codes largely unenforced
28 Oct 2015
ISLAMABAD, 27 October 2015 (IRIN) - Pakistan added detailed seismic provisions to its national building code in 2007, two years after an earthquake in the disputed Kashmir region killed more than 80,000 people and destroyed countless constructions. They have gone largely unenforced, compounding the destruction from Monday’s 7.5-magnitude quake.
Scores killed, hundreds injured in Afghanistan-Pakistan quake
27 Oct 2015
KABUL/LAHORE, 26 October 2015 (IRIN) - Darkness put rescue efforts on hold in the mountainous Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, which was struck by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake on Monday, with roads destroyed and helicopters unable to fly at night.
Afghan conflict and upcoming winter complicate earthquake relief
26 Oct 2015
KUNDUZ, 27 October 2015 (IRIN) - Several districts near the epicentre of a 7.5-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan are contested by government forces and Taliban insurgents, complicating relief to some of those affected by Monday’s quake.
Counting under fire: the untold story of Syria's casualty data
26 Oct 2015
LONDON, 27 October 2015 (IRIN) - Counting the dead in a warzone as complex as Syria is so challenging that the UN abandoned the task in early 2014, saying it could no longer stand by the accuracy of its source material.
Turkish agency launches flour campaign for Syrians
22 Oct 2015
Turkish aid agency the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) has launched a campaign for flour donations to boost its bread production in Syria.
Briefing: The EU refugee deal with Turkey
21 Oct 2015
OXFORD, 19 October 2015 (IRIN) - For EU member states struggling to agree on the best response to the refugee crisis, the fallback plan has long been to look to third countries to solve the problem for them.
Lives on hold for families of missing migrants
19 Oct 2015
THIAROYE, 20 October 2015 (IRIN) - When migrants go missing on the long journey from Africa to Europe the lack of information about their fate often adds immense bureaucratic hurdles to the anxious uncertainty suffered by their relatives back home.
What will winter bring for Europe’s refugee crisis?
13 Oct 2015
PRESEVO/OXFORD, 14 October 2015 (IRIN) - Rough seas and colder weather usually signal a sharp drop in the numbers of migrants and refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe. But after a summer of unprecedented refugee arrivals, this winter is likely to be different.
Refugee rescue ship enters rough waters in Southeast Asia
13 Oct 2015
YANGON, 13 October 2015 (IRIN) - After spending the summer rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean, a ship owned by an American millionaire will attempt to do the same in Southeast Asia. But the Migrant Offshore Aid Station could find itself sailing into a sea of trouble in a region where rules governing the rights of migrants and refugees are harsher and less clear-cut than in Europe.
Fuel shortage threatens Nepal aid as winter comes
13 Oct 2015
DELHI, 12 October 2015 (IRIN) - Almost six months after Nepal was devastated by a massive earthquake, relief efforts are literally running on fumes. Tankers are unable to drive across the border from India. The country is running out of fuel. Will aid agencies be able to stock up remote, mountainous communities before they are cut off by the first winter snows?
Al Imdaad calls for more support for refugees
06 Oct 2015
The Al-Imdaad Foundation has sought to increase its assistance and aid towards refugees entering Europe from Syria and other war-ravaged countries in the Middle East, amid one of the world’s biggest refugee crises since World War II. A record number of people, believed to exceed 500 000, have made the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean in the hopes of better conditions in Europe, with countries like Germany opening its borders to deal with the influx.
Central African Republic goes back to square one
05 Oct 2015
BANGUI, 6 October 2015 (IRIN) - Six days of fighting that ended in Central African Republic’s capital last week has left a heavy toll: dozens dead, hundreds wounded, thousands displaced, and hope of an imminent resolution to the country’s protracted and complex political crisis fading fast.
Refugee sea arrivals in Greece this year approach 400,000
01 Oct 2015
ATHENS, Greece, October 2 (UNHCR) -- The UN refugee agency said on Friday that refugee and migrant arrivals in Greece are expected to hit the 400,000 mark soon, despite adverse weather conditions. Greece remains by far the largest single entry point for new sea arrivals in the Mediterranean, followed by Italy with 131,000 arrivals so far in 2015.
The refugee crisis: time for some perspective
23 Sep 2015
LONDON, 24 September 2015 (IRIN) - At the end of a long summer that has seen record numbers of migrants and refugees arriving on Europe’s shores, EU member states are still deeply divided in their response to the crisis. This week, they agreed to relocate 120,000 asylum seekers from over-burdened frontline states like Greece and Italy to other EU countries over the next two years, despite four countries voting against the deal.
Local dwarfs global in Serbia refugee response
20 Sep 2015
BELGRADE, 21 September 2015 (IRIN) - It is early afternoon and Miksalište, a major hub for refugees set up in a performance space in the heart of the Serbian capital, is a hive of activity. Some of the refugees queue to pick up donated food, clothes and baby products, while others receive health check-ups. A group of young men crowd around a solar charging station, taking advantage of the free wifi.
Serbia offers brief welcome for migrants rushing to EU
20 Sep 2015
BELGRADE, 21 August 2015 (IRIN) - Across the road from Belgrade’s main train and bus stations is a small park that until recently was known mainly for its sex workers. Now, hundreds of migrants and refugees camp out in the park every day, waiting for buses or taxis to take them north to Serbia’s border with Hungary.
Is Yemen Europe's next migration crisis?
18 Sep 2015
SANA'A/BEIRUT, 18 September 2015 (IRIN) - Suddenly everyone knows about Syria as hundreds of thousands of refugees flee across Europe. But further south, another Middle Eastern country is also imploding, arguably at an even faster rate. Will refugees from Yemen now also start to flee to Europe?
What Chile did right
17 Sep 2015
LONDON, 18 September 2015 (IRIN) - Earlier this year, an 8.1-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal, killing more than 8,000 people and displacing nearly three million. A few days ago, an earthquake significantly more powerful struck Chile. The epicentre was near populated areas, just 175 miles north of the capital Santiago, yet only 11 people died and only a few hundred houses were damaged.
Flooding in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy delta
17 Sep 2015
PATHEIN DISTRICT, Myanmar, 17 September 2015 (IRIN) - Almost two months after Cyclone Komen triggered Myanmar’s worst flooding in recent memory, parts of the Irrawaddy delta remain submerged while rising river levels have prompted the government to urge people in some areas to evacuate.
Unexpected humanitarians – the rise and potential fall of Syria's diaspora aid
15 Sep 2015
ABU DHABI, 16 September 2015 (IRIN) - Just a few years ago, Hussein knew little about humanitarian aid. A mild-mannered Syrian car salesman in Doha, he lived a simple life between home and the office. Aside from the odd gift or remittances, he had never sent goods back to Syria.
Refugees caught between razor-wire and a minefield
14 Sep 2015
Röszke, 15 September 2015 (IRIN) - For the thousands of migrants and refugees streaming into Serbia with the hope of entering the European Union via Hungary, the journey ahead is littered with ever more obstacles: from a razor-wire fence and the threat of prison on one side to minefields and mountains on the other.
Short-lived calm in Macedonia's refugee rush
11 Sep 2015
Thousands of refugees continue to cross into Macedonia from Greece daily. While authorities in both countries are doing a better job of managing the crowds at the border, it is a fragile order that quickly evaporates when trains fail to run and the weather takes a turn for the worse.
A record 432,761 migrants, including refugees seeking asylum in the European Union have crossed the Mediterranean so far in 2015
10 Sep 2015
11/9/15 Geneva, Switzerland - The number of migrants, including refugees seeking asylum, who have arrived in Europe by sea so far in 2015 has surpassed 430,000, according to IOM analysis.This figure is double the amount of arrivals in the Mediterranean for the entire 2014, emphasizing the scale of the current migration emergency.
How the EU’s refugee plan stacks up
10 Sep 2015
OXFORD, 9 September 2015 (IRIN) - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called for “bold, concerted action” to manage Europe’s refugee crisis during his State of the Union address today and outlined a raft of measures that member states will need to decide whether to adopt in Brussels on Monday.
Any such thing as a ‘safe’ country?
07 Sep 2015
LONDON, 8 September 2015 (IRIN) - At the same time as European Union nations consider opening their doors to more Syrian refugees, they are looking for ways to close them to asylum seekers from other countries.
How will Germany house all its refugees?
06 Sep 2015
BERLIN, 7 September 2015 (IRIN) - As 18,000 asylum seekers arrived in Munich over the weekend, local authorities scrambled to find them all beds. Sites for trade fairs, an abandoned car showroom, even railway carriages, have all been turned into emergency accommodation. But as trainloads of newcomers keep arriving, the options are dwindling and the shortage of refugee housing has reached crisis levels
How Europe's refugee crisis hurts Syrian NGOs
06 Sep 2015
GAZIANTEP, 7 September 2015 (IRIN) - Ask any aid organisation working on Syria their biggest problems and towards the top of every list will be one thing: you can’t get the staff, or, more accurately, you can’t keep the staff.
Europe doesn't have a migrant crisis, it has a Syrian crisis
04 Sep 2015
EIRUT, 2 September 2015 (IRIN) - Imagine Syria didn't exist - that the war never happened. Suddenly Europe’s migration crisis doesn't look so bad.
2,400 reasons to care
04 Sep 2015
OXFORD, 3 September 2015 (IRIN) - By now, most of us have seen the gut-wrenching photographs of a lifeless Syrian toddler washed up on a Turkish beach. Countless Twitter and Facebook users have suggested only such horrifying images can shame EU leaders into taking action on Europe’s refugee crisis.
European human rights court could put brakes on migrant deportations
03 Sep 2015
OXFORD, 4 September 2015 (IRIN) - In the face of a surge in migrant arrivals, the EU Commission has urged member states to take a tougher stance on rapidlyreturning migrants who don’t qualify for asylum, but a European Court of Human Rights judgement this week may make countries think twice about fast-tracking repatriations.
European human rights court could put brakes on migrant deportations
03 Sep 2015
OXFORD, 4 September 2015 (IRIN) - In the face of a surge in migrant arrivals, the EU Commission has urged member states to take a tougher stance on rapidlyreturning migrants who don’t qualify for asylum, but a European Court of Human Rights judgement this week may make countries think twice about fast-tracking repatriations.
When Myanmar votes, Rohingya must stay home
01 Sep 2015
BUTHIDAUNG, Myanmar, 1 September 2015 (IRIN) - In the 2010 general elections, about 150,000 Muslims in this isolated township in western Myanmar were able to cast ballots. When the country returns to the polls in November the number of Muslim voters here is likely to be about a dozen.
Debates over language: a dangerous distraction?
30 Aug 2015
AMMAN, 31 August 2015 (IRIN) - Responding to any urgent humanitarian situation, including the current inflow of migrants and refugees to Europe, involves correctly categorising and defining the problem. But agonising over labels and language risks overshadowing the need for more coordinated responses and a better understanding of what is driving people to embark on these journeys.
Abandoned at Sea
25 Aug 2015
Smugglers cast 5,000 desperate souls adrift on the Andaman Sea. Survivors spoke to UNHCR about their terrifying ordeal.
Photo Feature: The race to beat Hungary's border fence
24 Aug 2015
Röszke , 25 August 2015 (IRIN) - As Hungary rushes to complete the first phase of a controversial fence along its Serbian border, migrants – mainly refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq – have been desperately trying to reach the country, which marks the beginning of the European Union’s passport-free Schengen zone. When the fence is up, entry will become much harder
United effort to improve quality of life in rural SA
24 Aug 2015
ATTEMPTS to provide quality healthcare for isolated areas received a major boost when the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, the SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service and the Al-Imdaad Foundation joined forces last week.
This iconic Turkish bakery for Syrian refugees is no more
10 Aug 2015
An iconic bakery and co-ordination centre set up on the Turkish border to facilitate humanitarian assistance to Syria’s refugees has gone up in flames.
Infant mortality rate rises in Gaza for first time in fifty years
07 Aug 2015
The infant mortality rate in Gaza has risen for the first time in five decades, according to an UNRWA study, and UNRWA’s Health Director says the blockade may be contributing to the trend.
Jordan's Za'atari refugee camp turns three, challenges for the future of thousands living there
27 Jul 2015
GENEVA, July 28 (UNHCR) – As Jordan's Za'atari camp – the largest refugee camp in the Middle East – prepared to mark its third anniversary, the UN refugee agency revealed on Tuesday (July 28) an increase in the number of refugees seeking shelter in camps across the rest of the country.
Syria’s grim statistics ‘speak for themselves,’ reflect need for political settlement, Security Council told
27 Jul 2015
8 July 2015 – A political solution is more urgent than ever to end the “futile, hopeless” cycle of brutality and violence in Syria, the top United Nations humanitarian official said today, urging the Security Council to consider its options through “the eyes of the beleaguered, now long-suffering” civilians.
Syria: hundreds of thousands of children missing out on education
19 Jul 2015
I can still hear my children’s worried voices from the backseat. ‘Mom, do you think they will be nice? What if I won’t make any friends?
100,000 still homeless one year after Gaza war
05 Jul 2015
At the current rate that materials are entering Gaza, it will take over half a century to meet housing needs
From grooms to body bags: the story of Yemen's fighters
17 Jun 2015
SANA'A, 16 June 2015 (IRIN) - Eighteen months ago, the small Yemeni village of Al-Hamza* was awash with joy. A mass wedding dominated its small streets, with a few dozen couples tying the knot simultaneously.
In Indonesia’s Aceh, a warm welcome for refugees in a sea of misery
14 Jun 2015
LANGSA, Indonesia, 15 June 2015 (IRIN) - Nur Yanah can’t hold back the tears when she recalls hundreds of emaciated boat people arriving in her native Aceh province after being rescued by local fishermen in defiance of the government decision to leave them adrift.
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After regional quakes, Philippines prepares for the big one
10 Jun 2015
MANILA, 10 June 2015 (IRIN) - Recent quakes in Nepal and Malaysia have shaken the Philippines into action, with authorities scaling up earthquake preparedness drills and safety inspections of public buildings in the capital Manila.
Time for a new deal for Middle East's displaced?
09 Jun 2015
DUBAI, 10 June 2015 (IRIN) - Conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen are leading to unprecedented numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the Middle East and North Africa, and increasingly complex and severe humanitarian crises.
Tackling the roots of the Rohingya crisis
08 Jun 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, 8 June 2015 (IRIN) - As Malaysian police finish exhuming mass graves in human trafficking camps along the Thai border, Southeast Asian nations are under pressure to end the brutal trade in human lives by tackling the roots of the crisis.
Al-Imdaad garden project blossoms
31 May 2015
What started as a dream almost three years ago in a high-flood zone with supportive donors, has flourished into a beautiful garden
Malnutrition Among Syrian Refugees
29 May 2015
SEATTLE — Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011 between forces supporting Syrian president Bashir Al Assad and rebel forces, many Syrians have been forced to flee their homes in an attempt to escape the conflict. About 7 million Syrians have been displaced. Of the displaced, 4.2 million remain in Syria and 2.5 million have fled to neighboring countries, including Jordan and Lebanon.
Lucky escape for Rohingya boys who took the bait
28 May 2015
SAY THA MAR GYI, Myanmar, 29 May 2015 (IRIN) - Maung Zaw Lin was shopping in the market when an unknown man approached him with a compelling proposal: he offered to take him from his camp for displaced persons on the western coast of Myanmar to Malaysia where he could find work.
Malaysia and Thailand leave migrant boats adrift
23 May 2015
OXFORD, 13 May 2015 (IRIN) - As Europe focuses on the migrants in the Mediterranean, another humanitarian crisis is playing out on a stretch of water between the Andaman Sea and the Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and Bangladeshi migrants have been deserted by smugglers and left adrift for days without food or water.
Yemen conflict fans food insecurity
21 May 2015
AMMAN / DUBAI, 22 May 2015 (IRIN) - The conflict in Yemen is worsening the country's food insecurity, according to a new report, which predicts that the parts of Arab state may enter an emergency phase by the end of the year.
The identity crisis frustrating Nepal's quake survivors
20 May 2015
MAILUNG , 21 May 2015 (IRIN) - Mento Ghale did what any parent would do when Nepal’s 25 April earthquake struck her village of Mailung: she grabbed the children and got them out of the house as quickly as she could.
Many fleeing Burundi have no wish to return
20 May 2015
KIGOMA, Tanzania, 21 May 2015 (IRIN) - If you ask a Burundian refugee who has recently arrived in Tanzania when they plan to return home, there’s a good chance that the answer will be, “I don’t.” Now a cholera outbreak on the border has made the journey all the more dangerous.
Shaken by quakes, Nepal now needs to survive the monsoon
20 May 2015
NAIROBI, 15 May 2015 (IRIN) - Three weeks after a major earthquake struck Nepal, aid efforts have yet to reach many remote communities. Now those still living amid the rubble of their villages must survive the monsoon due in the next few weeks.
Making bread on the Syrian border
19 May 2015
A Turkish bakery is producing 170,000 loaves of bread per day and sending them to Syria's needy.
Kept afloat by hope - the endless odyssey of the Rohingya
17 May 2015
Faizal Ahmad* has just spent six months at sea, in an open boat crammed with 450 people, praying that Allah would deliver him to safety and a future free of persecution.
All at sea: what lies behind Southeast Asia’s migrant crisis?
14 May 2015
OXFORD, 15 May 2015 (IRIN) - The plight of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers from Myanmar and Bangladesh, left adrift without food and water for nearly a week, has all the hallmarks of a full-blown humanitarian crisis. Yet despite statements of concern from governments, aid agencies and human rights groups, there is little sign of a coordinated plan to address the issue. Boats have been spotted off the coasts of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, apparently abandoned by human trafficking gangs who operate across maritime and land borders and shunned by regional powers.
Blackburn-based charity set for D-day after latest Nepal earthquake
12 May 2015
The Al-Imdaad Foundation, which is based in Blackburn, sent out a team from its base in South Africa following the first earthquake in April
Bullets before the ballot – Bujumbura diary
05 May 2015
BUJUMBURA, 6 May 2015 (IRIN) - At least a dozen people have been killed in recent days in Burundi amid protests against the president’s plans to run for a third term in office. The unrest has raised fears that the country, after a decade of peace, could slide back into conflict. This is what it is like to live and work through the troubles:
No husband, no home: Migrant wives struggle in Nepal
03 May 2015
KATHMANDU, 4 May 2015 (IRIN) - Sabita Danwar was washing dishes at the hotel where she works when the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on 25 April. Her first thought was for the safety of her two sons on the other side of Kathmandu. Her second was to try to call her husband, much further away in Dubai.
Nepal hospitals overflowing, rural towns cut off: aid groups
26 Apr 2015
Aid groups and governments worldwide intensified efforts Sunday to help earthquake-hit Nepal, but blocked roads, downed power lines and overcrowded hospitals posed formidable challenges in an already poor country.
Locals and foreigners pray together for peace
14 Apr 2015
Durban - Locals and foreign nationals gathered at the Isipingo Beach Sports ground on Wednesday to offer their daily Islamic afternoon prayer, with an added call for peace.
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Govenrment Urged to take action against Xenophobia.
13 Apr 2015
Many have fled their homes. The Isipingo police station continues to be inundated with the displaced. A temporary shelter has now been set up and on Thursday more than 200 foreigners were moved to the secure camp.
Al-Imdaad Foundation assist displaced foreigners in Chatsworth, Durban.
09 Apr 2015
The Al-Imdaad and eThekwini municipal workers hand out much-needed supplies to displaced foreigners at the Chatsworth Stadium.
Foreigners in South Africa fearful after xenophobic attacks
01 Apr 2015
Hundreds of foreign nationals have sought refuge at a local police station in the town of Isipingo in South Africa, almost four days after a series of alleged xenophobic attacks in the town, local activists said.
Syria four years on - an unimaginable toll
11 Mar 2015
BEIRUT, 12 March 2015 (IRIN) - As Syria's war enters its fifth year, the human toll is almost unimaginable.
POOR SANITATION SPAWNS SOUTHERN AFRICA CHOLERA OUTBREAK
08 Mar 2015
JOHANNESBURG—Cholera has again reared its ugly head in Southern Africa, infecting nearly 6,000 people in Mozambique, Malawi and now Zimbabwe. Heavy rains have been cited as the main culprit of this outbreak, but poor sanitation continues to plague this region, and human rights advocates say that is a failure of leadership.
Joint Statement by 30 International Aid Agencies: “We must not fail in Gaza".
25 Feb 2015
(26 February 2015) – Six months have passed since a ceasefire on 26 August 2014 ended over seven weeks of fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip. As UN agencies and international NGOs operating in Gaza, we are alarmed by the limited progress in rebuilding the lives of those affected and tackling the root causes of the conflict.
Dire conditions for Malawi's flood survivors
05 Feb 2015
BANGULA, 6 February 2015 (IRIN) - For those who have lost everything in southern Malawi’s Chikwawa District, just getting the next meal is now the priority.
In pictures: Southern Africa floods
21 Jan 2015
NAIROBI, 20 January 2015 (IRIN) - The number of people affected by severe flooding in southern Africa continues to rise, and more rain is predicted.
Eyewitness - Malawi’s floods
16 Jan 2015
NAIROBI, 16 January 2015 (IRIN) - The scale and impact of the current flooding in southern Malawi seems to have caught the authorities by surprise. Some areas were deluged with a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours, and forecasts suggest there is more to come. Latest figures put the number of dead at 50 with 14,000 households displaced (an estimated 70,000 people). Some villages, cut off by the floodwaters, have yet to be reached, so the death toll may yet rise.
South African armed forces to help flood relief
15 Jan 2015
The South African government is sending men and equipment from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to assist in search and rescue missions in flood hit areas of the central Mozambican province of Zambezia.
Floods and storms kill dozens of people in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines
31 Dec 2014
Malaysia, southern Thailand and parts of the Philippines have been battered by heavy rain and flash floods in recent days, killing dozens of people.
Ebola orphans now face stigma, stress
20 Nov 2014
Nationwide, more than 3,400 children have been directly affected by the virus, including at least 89 children who have lost one parent and more than 795 who have lost both parents to Ebola, according to the MSWGCA/UNICEF-led Family Tracing and Reunification (FTR) network. There are no accurate figures for the number of separated children, a spokesperson for FTR said.
Questions over Mali's Ebola response
18 Nov 2014
Before the current outbreak in Mali, the World Health Organization (WHO) had categorized the country as at-risk, due to its long border and strong economic ties with Guinea, where the epidemic began. It was targeted as a country to receive technical assistance, including training on infection prevention, epidemiological surveillance and contact tracing.
Ebola survivors work to improve response
12 Nov 2014
Many public health officials see survivors as a highly valued commodity in a struggle against a disease that has decimated so many people on the front line.
Ebola: Experienced doctors still rare
28 Oct 2014
"A lot of people also forget how emotional it is. You know your patients. You know their history and you see them dying. You see the father dying, you see the mother dying, the sister dying. It's quite emotional. We save lives, yet you cannot do it. Some people cannot cope with it. You feel so hopeless and frustrated."
Close-up to Ebola: Sierra Leone blog
11 Oct 2014
Six Ebola-hit districts, including Kailahun, Kenema, Port Loko, Bombali, Mayambo and parts of Freetown, are “isolated” across the country, meaning locals need a special pass to leave them, and houses with confirmed Ebola cases are cordoned off, their inhabitants instructed not to leave unless they are sick. In those cases they must wait for an ambulance to take them to the nearest Ebola clinic.
Post-flood health worries in Pakistan
09 Oct 2014
"You can see in their eyes the children are not well. They have fevers and have signs of skin disease. Many children in the village have diarrhoea. I see them grow weaker every day"
Local relief group brings hope to Syria
02 Oct 2014
Durban - A KwaZulu-Natal based humanitarian relief organisation is delivering 1 000 tons of flour in strife-torn Syria
J&K, Meghalaya were unprepared to deal with floods: Rijiju
29 Sep 2014
NEW DELHI: The Centre feels that both Jammu & Kashmir and Meghalaya were inadequately prepared to deal with the recent floods, though largely because they had not faced floods for a long time.
Ebola's economic impact hits Sierra Leone citizens
19 Sep 2014
Thus far there have not been widespread shortages of the staple rice, said Alimamy Bangura of the Finance Ministry's Economic Policy and Research Unit, though there are fears that long-term border closures could lead to dwindling stocks and panic buying.
Pakistan floods affect 2.3 million
18 Sep 2014
The “super-flood” surged south, wreaking havoc throughout Punjab, the country’s most populous province.
South African move on child trafficking
17 Sep 2014
“While many children move across South African borders and many of these may require protection of some kind… I sense we should be far more careful about developing a heavy-handed and securitized approach to these concerns,”
“Super-flood” risk Pakistan
12 Sep 2014
“At this point in time, with the knowledge that flooding is expected in Sindh in the next few days, it is anticipated that this is a disaster that will figure between the flooding of 2013 which affected about 1.5 million people and the super floods of 2010 which affected some 20 million people.”
Hundreds die as heaviest rain in 50 years catch India, Pakistan off guard
09 Sep 2014
"The damage is shocking, people have been stranded on rooftops of their homes for the last three days in some parts of Kashmir,"
Floods wreak havoc in Assam, 12 lakh hit, 9 killed
27 Aug 2014
GUWAHATI: Nine people have been killed and over 12 lakh hit by floods in 16 districts of the state. The floods were triggered by heavy rain in the region, mostly in neighbouring Arunachal, over the last few days. Till Wednesday, four persons were reported killed in Lakhimpur district, three in Dhemaji and one each in Morigaon district and Majuli river island.
Gaza ceasefire: Israel and Palestinians agree to halt weeks of fighting
27 Aug 2014
The war in Gaza ended on Tuesday after Israel and the Palestinians agreed to halt fighting indefinitely, putting an end to seven weeks of catastrophic loss of life and destruction, but on terms which are likely to leave many on both sides of the conflict wondering what was achieved.
Gaza diary: Life under Israeli assault
06 Aug 2014
GAZA CITY, 7 August 2014 (IRIN) - There are about 10 seconds, or at least that is what it feels like, between the launching of the missile and the devastating crash of the explosion. They are the darkest moments of my life. As the sound of the falling missile grows, my stomach lurches, I close my eyes and think of my family. The tape of my life flashes before my eyes as we wait to find out if this is the end.
Humanitarian agencies warn of imminent water crisis in Gaza -
22 Jul 2014
Since the start of the Israeli assault on Gaza on 8 July 2014, the water and wastewater infrastructure in Gaza has been heavily affected by Israeli airstrikes. Main water supply and wastewater infrastructure has been hit and as a result the water supply or sewage services to 1.2 million (2/3 of the total population in Gaza) have been cut or severely disrupted. The targeting of civilian objects under situation of hostilities is prohibited according to International Humanitarian Law and is considered a war crime.
Gaza: Nowhere to go
21 Jul 2014
"And it is not only money we lack, but also security and personal safety. If we cannot provide our families with their basic needs, at least we try to move them to safety,”
Gaza running out of medical supplies.
15 Jul 2014
Ae'd Yaghi, director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, called for immediate international action to protect Palestinians and provide medical supplies.
FRIENDS OF AL IMDAAD launch their first mobile musallah and madrasah.
05 Jul 2014
FRIENDS OF AL IMDAAD a volunteer wing have launched their first mobile musallah and madrasah.
Plan to eradicate poverty in KZN
25 Jun 2014
Johannesburg - KwaZulu-Natal premier Senzo Mchunu on Thursday announced plans to eradicate poverty in the province.
Bangladesh-Myanmar border tensions pinch desperate Rohingya
18 Jun 2014
Communal violence in Rakhine state in 2012 displaced more than 140,000 Rohingya, and forced many to cross into Bangladesh. Conditions are far from ripe for their return.
Understanding the surge in migrant boat crossings to Europe
30 May 2014
Last month, the head of Italy’s Immigration and Border Police agency was widely quoted in the media telling a parliamentary committee that 800,000 more migrants were poised to depart the North African coast for Europe, a figure which he later admitted was “not a concrete projection”
Bosnia and Herzegovina, hit by the worst floods in the last 120 years.
20 May 2014
States of emergency have been declared in parts of Bosnia and Serbia after the heaviest rain and worst floods since records began 120 years ago.
Assam: Victims blame Bodoland People’s Front for attacks
06 May 2014
The official said at least 26 persons were killed in Baksa. "Still 15 persons are missing. Out of them, 12 are children and 3 women,"
Miserable conditions at camp for Zimbabwe flood victims
06 May 2014
More than 3,000 families displaced by flooding in the Tokwe-Mukosi dam basin in Zimbabwe’s southeastern Masvingo Province are facing looming food shortages after more than three months living in crowded, unsanitary conditions at a temporary camp.
Reducing the volcano risk in Indonesia
06 May 2014
More than one million people live within a 10km radius of the summit, putting them at constant risk. Hundreds of lives have been lost due to its eruptions since the 1990s
The Muslims of the Central African Republic Face a Deadly Purge
20 Feb 2014
PK12, the last checkpoint at the exit of town, thousands of Muslim residents from Bangui and Mbaiki flee the Central African Republic capital Bangui in a mass exodus using cars, pickups, trucks, lorries and motorcycles, escorted by Chadian troops.
Water brings change flowing in Pakistan’s Tharparkar
30 Jan 2014
“Rather than spending hours at the well, I can now take better care of my children, keep them clean to prevent sickness and share in discussions on family matters. As water collectors, we are just like chattel - but with water pouring from a tap we gain dignity,”
Troops deployed to protect aid convoys in CAR
25 Jan 2014
“Every day we are providing two weeks rations to 500 displaced families at Bangui airport, and we have only enough food for another few days’ distributions,”
Public killings highlight power shift in CAR
22 Jan 2014
The NGO said the Muslim neighbourhoods in Boali, a town about 80 kilometres northwest of the capital, were empty, and that Muslims were also reported to have fled in large numbers from the towns of Bossembele, Yakole and Boyali, as well as many smaller villages and numerous neighborhoods around Bangui.
Mali's Dogon hit by double crisis
17 Jan 2014
The clinic sees 15 new cases of malnutrition per week, a threefold increase in as many years, explains Guindo, a doctor who practices both modern and traditional medicine.
Major food crisis looms in CAR
16 Jan 2014
“Seeds and food stocks are in short supply: most people surveyed said their meal consumption has dropped from three times to once a day”
Hopes and fears as Indonesia rolls out universal healthcare
14 Jan 2014
A report released in 2013 by Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company, says 7.6 million people in Indonesia are living with diabetes, with millions more are at risk.
Food and the city
17 Dec 2013
In high-risk cities, contingency planning should establish baseline information, including cost-of-living calculations, so that the difference between "normal" circumstances and shocks can be quickly determined.
Fighting in South Sudan capital leaves dozens dead, displaced
17 Dec 2013
More than 300 people have been admitted to [the] Juba Teaching Hospital and [the] Juba Military Hospital over the past two days.
More than 5,000 evacuated from Gaza 'disaster area' floods
17 Dec 2013
"Large swathes of northern Gaza are a disaster area with water as far as the eye can see"
Shrinking the financial fallout of natural disasters
14 Dec 2013
The death and destruction in the Philippines is the worst since 1991. Up to 9 December 2013, the typhoon, which struck on 8 November, had affected more than 12 million people, killed nearly 6,000 and left almost 1,800 more missing.
After North Kivu, UN, DRC forces set sights on Orientale
12 Dec 2013
Fighting involving armed groups and attacks on civilians prompted the displacement of 700,000 people this year in Orientale Province,
Find the child, treat them early: message from Mali
12 Dec 2013
While under-five child mortality rates have been declining throughout Mali over the past decade - from an average of 197 deaths per 1,000 in 2002 to 130 per 1,000 in 2012, according to the researchers, this intervention has produced dramatic results.
Bad credit adds to Zimbabwe’s food insecurity
11 Dec 2013
“As a matter of fact, most markets in the maize production areas have reached abnormally high price levels during the quarter July-September, with prices high in areas that had poor yields,”
Dam project displaces hundreds of families in Zimbabwe
11 Dec 2013
"It is really painful that the government had to dump us to such a place before they even set up any housing structures for us,” said Marlyn Mathambo, 44, a widow who takes care of her four children as well as three grandsons.
Analysis: How to get aid to remote Philippine typhoon survivors
11 Dec 2013
With basic road infrastructure badly damaged, access to the coastal communities of Guiuan in Eastern Samar, where Haiyan first made landfall, was extremely difficult but has now improved. Roads have been cleared and public transportation is running once again but is still sporadic.
Aid agencies struggle to reach all of CAR’s needy
09 Dec 2013
“In the first 14 days, we've seen over 4,000 kids under five, and a few adults, and we treated 3,200 for malaria,”
Drought contributes to cholera outbreak in southern Angola
09 Dec 2013
A year-long outbreak that started in the slums of the capital, Luanda, in February 2006 and spread to 16 out of 18 provinces, resulted in over 80,000 reported cases and 3,000 deaths.
Floods displace thousands, destroy farms in Somalia's Middle Shabelle
09 Dec 2013
“My farm, where I grew vegetables and fruits, has been completely wiped out, and I have lost an estimated fortune of US$12,000,” Abdullahi Mohamed Hussein, a resident of Jowhar
The hidden crisis in urban slums
09 Dec 2013
“There are many young mothers who can hardly afford to feed their children, and this means the issue of malnutrition for children under five years is very high. The health facility can hardly cope with the demand here. HIV prevalence is higher than the national average. Urban slums are faced with a health crisis,”
Pakistan's polio fight goes under the radar
07 Dec 2013
Pakistan made strong vaccination efforts in the late 1980s and early 1990s, leading to significant strides in the battle against the disease, according to local monitoring organizations
Keeping malnutrition on radar after Typhoon Haiyan
05 Dec 2013
Thirty breastfeeding tents will be put up this month in evacuation centres in Tacloban and the nearby region of Tanauan. Aid groups will also broadcast nutrition-related messages for half an hour on the radio each morning at 10 a.m., according to the national nutrition group.
Families powerless in Gaza
03 Dec 2013
“It is the main question in Gaza now. What we need - as an essential right - is living healthy and sound, in a decent way. We want this to be a place where my baby, family and Palestinians can live with dignity.”
Typhoon-affected rice farmers need seeds
02 Dec 2013
“Many of the farmers have been wiped out. Not only have they lost their homes, they have lost their homes and rice crops, but also their tools and equipment, as well as what rice they might have had in storage from the previous harvest
Displaced first by Typhoon Haiyan, now an oil spill
02 Dec 2013
We estimate that since the spill was reported on 8 November to today, some 850,000 litres of bunker oil have been leaked into the coastal waters of Estancia
Desperate search for Philippines missing
02 Dec 2013
According to Google People Finder, 67,900 people have registered to look for loved ones or provide information on someone who was found.
Summit spotlights Asia’s food and nutrition security
28 Nov 2013
“Food security is still thought about too much in terms of quantity… the nutritional aspects of food are recognized, but it’s not enough,”
Obstacles to return in eastern DRC
27 Nov 2013
Many of us have been refugees since 2007, and in Rwanda there is a Congolese population that left nearly 20 years ago.
Polio drive to target millions in Horn
27 Nov 2013
“Since polio outbreaks were confirmed in Somalia and other neighbouring countries of Kenya and Ethiopia, health authorities in South Sudan have been on high alert for any possible cases in the country,” said OCHA in a humanitarian bulletin. “South Sudan has been polio-free since June 2009.”
Bangladesh’s “Rohingya strategy” stokes concern
25 Nov 2013
Violence and inter-communal clashes between the Rohingya and Buddhists in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, most recently in June and October 2012, has prompted many Rohingya to flee, mostly across the border to Bangladesh, which stopped registering them as refugees in 1992.
How Bangladesh achieved its “amazing” health statistics
25 Nov 2013
Here's the paradox: Bangladesh is a very poor country,- much poorer than India or Pakistan. It has the lowest spending on healthcare in south Asia, (just US$27 per capita annually), and is extremely short of qualified doctors and nurses (only three doctors and three nurses for every 10,000 residents).
Conditions ripe for cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe
25 Nov 2013
The main killer here is the lack of water that we have lived with for many years now,” said Phiri whose 3-year-old daughter died last year of dysentery, a waterborne disease. He suspects she contracted it when she crawled into a toilet that was overflowing with human waste during a prolonged water cut.
Improvising health care after Typhoon Haiyan
22 Nov 2013
Nearly 400,000 people are being housed in some 1,500 evacuation centres, while over four million other displaced are living with relatives or friends.
Volunteers make a difference in typhoon-affected region
22 Nov 2013
A growing number of volunteers have come to the city, with many arriving from various parts of the country in large groups. Dr Gary Larosa, a government health officer in his early 50s, was at a mall shopping with his family in Davao City the day after the storm when he received the call.
Syrian Diary: Beggar at the door
22 Nov 2013
A friend of mine is one of the few doctors left in the besieged southern Damascus town of al-Hajar al-Aswad. He told me newborns are the most affected. Their mothers are not producing enough breast milk, and there is no powdered milk available.
Finding the urban crisis tipping point
22 Nov 2013
“Because we do not have the information, we do not intervene, and we allow people to live in conditions that we would consider unacceptable in rural settings,
Helping host communities help Syrian refugees
12 Nov 2013
Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt have spent billions of dollars hosting more than 2.2 million Syrian refugees in camps, towns and cities across the region.
What does the future hold for pastoralists in the Sahel?
02 Nov 2013
“Every year in Mali there are at least 10 deaths due to farmer-herder conflicts in villages along the Mali-Guinea border. The future of pastoralism worries me if no steps are taken,”
Mathotine Dz'dai, displaced in DRC: “We’re risking death again”
29 Oct 2013
"I found myself in Nongo [50 km south of Bunia] because of the weapons and bombs the FARDC [the DRC army] are setting off on the militia. We fled to prevent the children from being injured or dying. The fighters are out there; they will kill. It’s the thought of… a baby like mine, here, being shot dead that scared us and forced us to leave.
Dry season water worries for Myanmar IDPs in Rakhine State
21 Oct 2013
"Alimentary system infections caused by acute water shortages in the dry season are equally important issues for non-IDP populations in Rakhine State, especially in rural and remote areas,"
Struggling to reach Philippines earthquake survivors
18 Oct 2013
Of the 162,566 people displaced, nearly 100,000 are in 85 evacuation centres, mostly in Bohol, while another 65,000 are staying with family and friends, often near their homes, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC)
Pakistan's Swat Valley hit by dengue
09 Oct 2013
The number of infections is on a par with an outbreak of dengue fever in 2011 in Lahore in which more than 17,000 people were infected and over 300 died in four months.
Syrian refugees fearful as food aid reduced in Lebanon
09 Oct 2013
“This country is so expensive,” Fatima said. “They were already giving us almost nothing and now they are going to stop this [aid].
Syria Diary: In limbo
01 Oct 2013
DAMASCUS, 2 October 2013 (IRIN) - The writer is a recent graduate of the University of Damascus from a well-to-do family belonging to a Syrian minority. For security reasons, he prefers to stay anonymous. In this fourth diary entry, he describes feelings of disappointment as the August chemical attack, the proposed US military action and the current diplomatic initiative have left Syrians in limbo.
No welcome mat for Syrians in Europe
24 Sep 2013
The EU still has a long way to go in implementing a Common European Asylum System, with some states much less likely to grant refugee status than others.
Needs of elderly Syrian refugees in Lebanon “widely ignored”
09 Sep 2013
87 percent could not afford the medication they require
Analysis: Readying for escalation in Syria
01 Sep 2013
“There is an expectation that this is going to create new challenges in addition to those that already exist.”
Leishmaniasis could fuel refugee resentment in Turkey's border towns
30 Aug 2013
While Turkey's health response to leishmaniasis has involved the treatment of tens of thousands of patients in state-run camps and hospitals this year, much of the burden for treating the disease inside Turkey has fallen on poorly supplied clinics, staffed by Syrian doctors and nurses, in border towns.
Yemen flash floods damage IDP camps
29 Aug 2013
More than 8,000 camp residents are affected, while overall the torrential rains and flash floods, which started in mid-August, have killed 39 people and destroyed homes, schools and infrastructure.
Wave of nomadic pastoral refugees hits Chad
28 Aug 2013
"How do you deal with an emergency for people who believe national borders don't exist? You cannot fix them [in a location]; it will not work. There is a need for innovative approaches,"
Ahmad, Palestinian refugee from Syria: "I feel we are double refugees"
27 Aug 2013
“First we were refugees in Syria, and now we are seeking refuge in Lebanon… Like many other Palestinians, I feel we are double refugees.”
Former Darfur refugees scraping by in Chad
25 Aug 2013
"There is no one to take care of the children. Most of the time I have to work for other families to get money by helping out on the farms," said Oumar, who has children aged three and 13 months.
Mohannad Hamdnallah - Flood victim, Sudan: “Our house has completely collapsed”
22 Aug 2013
“Our father is getting old. He worked as a labourer, but doesn’t work now because he is diabetic. I am staying here in this tent, along with some of my friends, so as to rebuild the house, which we only built six months ago."
Malawians brace for another year of hunger
19 Aug 2013
“Most parts of the country have not received favourable rains over the past two years or so, and this period has exposed how vulnerable the FISP is,”
Egyptian rescue workers in the line of fire
16 Aug 2013
"Some of these people could have been saved. They could have been saved if there was somebody to save them"
Indonesia's volcano displaced need more help
16 Aug 2013
Over 3,500 people displaced by a volcano which first erupted in eastern Indonesia more than 10 months ago need further assistance
Briefing: The humanitarian situation in Darfur
14 Aug 2013
“Darfur has seen a new wave of fighting in many areas in 2013. More than 300,000 people have had to flee their homes to escape violence since the beginning of the year, including over 35,000 people who have crossed the borders into Chad and the Central African Republic. The crisis is getting bigger,”
Assalámo-alaikum-warahmatulláhi-wa barakátuh & EID MUBARAK.
08 Aug 2013
Assalámo-alaikum-warahmatulláhi-wa barakátuh & EID MUBARAK.
Pakistan's IDPs find it can get worse
04 Aug 2013
“People keep backups; some have savings, others have valuables and livestock. Once they’re gone, and they’re barely making enough to eat, it is extremely difficult for them to rebuild those backups,”
Analysis: Mali’s aid problem
04 Aug 2013
"We are poor not because of a lack of aid, we are poor because aid does not reach the targeted populations."
Vandalism hampers sanitation efforts in Jordan’s Za’atari camp
18 Jul 2013
On this front, refugees say there are not enough bathrooms (toilets and washrooms) for the number of residents in the camp. Some say they have to walk up to 2km to get to a bathroom and wait in line for up to an hour, only to find no water in the taps.
Assam flood situation remains grim, 450 villages inundated
10 Jul 2013
Guwahati: With no sign of relief from flood waters in Assam, the situation continued to remain critical as 27 more villages were submerged today.
Humanitarian needs rise in Sahel
03 Jul 2013
Some 11.3 million Sahelians are estimated to be short of food this year and 1.5 million under-fives acutely malnourished.
Funding shortfalls hit Yemen humanitarian work
03 Jul 2013
“The main effects will be reduced service-provision to vulnerable populations, thus resulting in a potential increase in cases of communicable diseases, including water-borne and vector-borne diseases, as well as lack of service to injured individuals.”
Rohingya detainees in Thailand face dire conditions
28 Jun 2013
“These IDCs were not designed to accommodate so many people for long periods of time. Overcrowding and movement restrictions can lead to physical and psychological problems for these groups that have already faced trauma in their villages and on the long journey here,”
Concern over planned relocation of refugees from Kenya to Somalia
28 Jun 2013
“You can see how we are struggling to collect food rations in this scorching sun, but I cannot trust to go back to Somalia so early, because I am sure I will be forced to run away again due to the ongoing conflict between the various factions fighting for power. I don’t want to be a refugee two times. I would rather stay longer than risk my life,”
Overnight in Jordan’s Za’atari camp
19 Jun 2013
One 19-year-old cradles her newborn, wrapped in a blanket. She travelled with her baby, literally just days old, from Aleppo, 500km north of Jordan, sleeping in a different village every night. Her husband, who fled to Jordan before her, has not yet seen his daughter.
Injured from al-Qusayr battle struggle to get medical care
12 Jun 2013
During the two-year conflict in Syria, close to six million people have been displaced, either within Syria or as refugees in neighbouring countries, according to the UN. The death toll has reached nearly 93,000, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Analysis : Hard choices When the Syria aid response runs out of money
10 Jun 2013
According to UNICEF, 150,000 Syrian children in Jordan are out of school
Analysis: For some, the best bad choice: Returning from refuge to Syria
09 Jun 2013
The camp is home to 120,000 people who live in tents and caravans in the middle of the desert in conditions that - while improving - remain very difficult. Riots occur almost daily over perceived injustice in distribution and general frustration over insufficient help
Policy or happenstance? Jordan's dwindling Syrian refugee arrivals
08 Jun 2013
One week in mid-May, the camp saw almost no new arrivals - attributed at the time to security measures during two international conferences in Jordan. Since then, arrival levels have fluctuated, but remain in the hundreds of entries per night, far below earlier averages of 1,500 to 2,500 per day, if not higher.
FAO report calls for food systems to improve nutrition
03 Jun 2013
Malnutrition comes in a variety of forms: undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity. Two billion people in the world suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, such as anaemia, for example, and more than a billion people are overweight and prone to chronic and life-threatening illnesses like diabetes
Tibetan refugees in Nepal crying out for documentation
03 Jun 2013
Nepal is home to at least 20,000 Tibetan refugees, many of whom fled south across the Himalayas following the 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Tens of thousands were reportedly killed.
Rising Niger Delta oil theft threatens security
02 Jun 2013
Locals had complained to the government that OFSL was poorly managed, spending money on ghost workers, jeeps and other equipment. Many had disapproved of the programme, seeing it as a means of paying off criminals.
Beyond emergency needs in DRC
29 May 2013
“There are no ‘durable solutions’ here without a change in the level of peace and stability, and changes in the destructive behaviour of the armed parties towards civilians,”
Syrians seeking refuge in Libya
27 May 2013
Most of the Syrian community in Libya, estimated at around 110,000 by government officials, are believed to have arrived over the past 18 months after having fled the Syrian conflict.
Concern for Syrians stuck at Jordanian border
23 May 2013
In Nasib village, just 2km from one of four border crossings between Jordan and Syria, there are 10,000 displaced people waiting to leave Syria, according to village imam Abu Omar.
Evacuation volunteers fan out in Bangladesh
19 May 2013
According to local government officials, 700,000 to 800,000 people have been evacuated in 13 coastal districts under the country’s Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP)
Rohingya evacuation under way in Myanmar
13 May 2013
“If the government fails to evacuate those at risk, any disaster that will result will not be natural, but man-made,”
Calamity planning - Bangladesh role-plays quake response
06 May 2013
As Bangladesh armed forces retrieve bodies from the country’s worst ever industrial disaster, a garment factory collapse killing over 700, contingency planning is taking place for something worse - a long-predicted earthquake striking the mega-capital of Dhaka
Analysis: "Wake up call" for Bangladesh's building industry
06 May 2013
Experts say the building was but one example of a broken system for authorizing, carrying out and monitoring construction; tens of thousands more buildings - and millions of people inside them - face the same fate
Activists call for review of Myanmar's citizenship law
02 May 2013
“The Rohingya have been constant victims of arbitrary arrests, extortion, harassment and fines due to their precarious legal status and laws prohibiting basic rights such as freedom of movement,
Prospects for Rakhine reconciliation dim
30 Apr 2013
According to most estimates, 95 percent of those displaced are Muslims, mostly Rohingyas. Under Burmese law, the Rohingya are de jure stateless. There are an estimated 800,000 Rohingya in Myanmar, and human rights groups say they have long faced persecution and discrimination.
Lessons from Bangladesh garment factory collapse
30 Apr 2013
On 24 April, at least 385 people were killed when the concrete structure collapsed in Bangladesh’s Savar industrial suburb (24km northwest Dhaka), trapping more than 3,000 mostly garment workers inside.
Political instability undermines disaster preparedness in Bangladesh
21 Apr 2013
According to the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Bangladesh is ranked one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, with cyclones striking coastal regions almost every year
Iraq 10 years on: The humanitarian legacy
21 Apr 2013
“The war is just such a series of mixed blessings,” said Ned Parker, a former fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and long-time Iraq correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. “For every positive development, there’s a negative development that counters it.”
Thousands of Libyan families displaced in the Nafusa Mountains
14 Apr 2013
Around 1,500 families fled their homes in March when heavily armed fighters from the Qantrar and Meshashya communities clashed in early March. The fight lasted five days, killing nine people, according to the head of the town’s local council, Abdel Hakim Bedran.
Hunger at crisis levels in northern Mali
13 Apr 2013
“You go to the market, there is no fruit, no vegetables, meat or fish… There is only rice, millet and corn - mainly donated by the government or internationals. Old and young are surviving on these cereals, but it is not enough.”
Rural health services ill-equipped in Egypt
07 Apr 2013
“There are few hospitals and clinics outside the major cities, and the few medical institutions available in these areas offer no services whatsoever to the patients. These medical institutions are cut off [from] whatever it takes to serve these patients.”
Uganda's midwives struggle to meet demands
07 Apr 2013
“Health centres lack electricity, water and other essential medical commodities to assist in delivery. In the past, I used to [hold] my cell phone in my mouth [and use its] torch to [assist delivering] mothers at the health centre,”
Niger seeks to end cycle of hunger
05 Apr 2013
“Niger faces drought once in every two years. Even in a good year, there is a part of the population that still remains vulnerable. Drought is the main threat to agriculture in our country. It’s responsible for 80 percent of losses in terms of agricultural output,”
Aid access still limited for displaced in Myanmar's Kachin State
04 Apr 2013
“In January, seven children drank water from a mountain stream that was polluted with pesticides from a nearby sugar cane plantation, and one of the girls died. Several of them had to be transferred to a Chinese hospital for emergency treatment,”
Urgent humanitarian needs in post-coup Central African Republic
04 Apr 2013
“The main humanitarian needs in Bangui are access to health and nutrition and clean water [and] security and protection of civilians,”
Despite new police presence, security concerns persist at Syrian refugee camp
02 Apr 2013
The camp, built to accommodate around 60,000 Syrian refugees, is now home to at least 140,000, according to the government. Some 50,000 arrived in February alone; between 1,500 and 2,000 more arrive every night.
In Iraq's disputed provinces, a health services vacuum
01 Apr 2013
“This place is not a country,” said Jwan Abdullah, an English teacher at the small village school. “We have no government; there is no doctor, no hospital. We don’t have a [phone] number for emergencies, and we need this.”
Will Somalia get enough rain this year
28 Mar 2013
"We are concerned - our forecast shows that there is 80 percent probability that rains could trend from normal to below normal across Somalia,"
Fishing for jobs in Lesotho
26 Mar 2013
“Right now something that is being tried is fisheries. This could be a viable employment opportunity, provided the communities are empowered to participate in such income-generating activities,
Time to reconcile in Bangladesh?
26 Mar 2013
“Criminal trials are never perfect... When all remedies are exhausted - national and international - we are left with a judicial truth, which may or may not reconcile society... War crimes justice hits a few defendants, while the crimes of the latter may have crushed thousands.”
Families still in need as calm returns to Myanmar's Meiktila
26 Mar 2013
At least 40 people were killed and more than 12,000 displaced in the area, officials estimate, in what is being described as the worst sectarian violence to strike Myanmar since the 2012 unrest in western Rakhine State, where more than 120,000 Muslim Rohingya remain displaced.
Unregistered IDPs in Myanmar’s Rakhine without aid
24 Mar 2013
Deadly sectarian clashes in June and October 2012 left 167 dead, hundreds injured and over 120,000 displaced. More than 10,000 homes were burned or destroyed.
Displaced by Myanmar violence: "Everything was on fire"
24 Mar 2013
At least five mosques were set ablaze and scores of homes burned, and at least 20 people are reported to have been killed since the violence began, but exact figures remain unknown. According to local authorities, more than 10,000 people have been displaced and are now living in six camps, including five schools and a local football stadium.
Madagascar's Millennium Village goes it alone
22 Mar 2013
The community was first named an ICT [information communications technology] village in 2005 through the separate Infopoverty Programme, which provided access to technology through classrooms equipped with computers
New plan to ensure universal healthcare in Somalia
22 Mar 2013
Somalia has some of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, and thousands of infants and children succumb annually to easily preventable and treatable conditions such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, malnutrition and measles.
Displacement tops 1,000 in Meiktila
21 Mar 2013
The comments follow two days of violence in Meiktila, in Mandalay Division - the worst communal unrest to shake Myanmar since clashes between ethnic Rakhine Buddists and Rohingya Muslims in western Rakhine State in 2012. That earlier violence left 167 dead, hundreds injured and over 120,000 people displaced. More than 10,000 homes were burned or destroyed
Boosting support for IDPs outside DRC's formal camps
20 Mar 2013
Fighting in North Kivu in 2012 displaced some 590,000 people, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In total, some 914,000 people are displaced in the province. According to the NGO Refugees International (RI), some 802,000 of these are living outside formal camp settings
Challenges in using micro-credit to help Yemen’s poor
20 Mar 2013
“Only to a certain extent, honestly, because life is very hard, there's no money in the house, no-one works. I am looking for a solution to improve life,”
Water scarcity affects Somaliland households
19 Mar 2013
"The durdurs [springs] near Las-Anod have run out of water for the first time in history, and prices [have] increased,"
Abandoned munitions endanger lives in Mali
18 Mar 2013
“We are strongly advising people not to return to their homes as the security conditions have not been met. [Clearing of] landmines [and UXO] would be one of the conditions for people to return. We urge them to remain where they are,”
From drought policy to reality
17 Mar 2013
“Droughts are becoming more prevalent and are an almost a permanent phenomenon in parts of Africa, punctuated by floods, leaving no recovery periods for vulnerable households,”
Keeping pastoralist children in school in Ethiopia
14 Mar 2013
. “During the flooding emergency that occurred in June 2012, around 3,196 girls dropped out of school. Most of the schools located in the seven woredas [districts] were flooded, with eventual destruction of all educational materials and school infrastructure,”
Cholera outbreak in Congo
14 Mar 2013
"People build and settle in prohibited areas, including [around] sewers, blocking the free flow of wastewater, which explains the repeated outbreaks of cholera,” he told IRIN. "To stop the disease… everyone - the authorities, NGOs and communities - should mobilize and become aware of this danger."
In Africa, corruption dirties the water
14 Mar 2013
“The impact of corruption on the water sector is manifested by lack of sustainable delivery, inequitable investment and targeting of resources, and limited participation of affected communities in developmental processes,”
Analysis: How to tackle Mali’s crisis in the long term
11 Mar 2013
Since the beginning of the conflict in early 2012, an estimated 431,000 (260,665 IDPs and 170,313 refugees) have been displaced and 4.3 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Syrians risk their health to keep warm
03 Mar 2013
“The smoke stinks terribly, and many people are suffering from respiratory problems and skin irritations because of it,” said a dentist in the eastern governorate Deir-ez-Zor, calling himself Abu Adnan. “But what can we do? We need warmth and we need something to cook our food with.”
Maize shortage renews debate over GM in Zimbabwe
03 Mar 2013
The grain milling industry in Zimbabwe, which includes maize-meal and livestock-feed manufacturers, says their current stocks will not last until the new harvest season in May-June. The country's Agricultural Marketing Association has warned the government of an impending crisis
The returns challenge in Mali
03 Mar 2013
- Nearly 3,000 Malians who fled towns and villages in the north when armed men occupied their homeland have headed home, but the vast majority are staying put in the south or in neighbouring countries, for fear of insecurity, reprisal killings, and in the knowledge that basic services are still sorely lacking.
Malnutrition persists alongside Mozambique's economic growth
03 Mar 2013
The country’s children die less from acute malnutrition than they did 10 or 20 years ago, but their quality of life remains poor.
Tropical Cyclone Haruna hits southwestern Madagascar
24 Feb 2013
According to the country’s National Disaster Risk Management Office (BNGRC), over 17,000 people have been affected by the storm, with 13 reported deaths and about 1,500 houses destroyed or flooded. Speed boats and traditional boats were mobilized over the weekend to rescue people stranded in trees and on rooftops.
Five food issues to watch out for
14 Feb 2013
“The current low stocks for both wheat and maize are a reason for concern because even small shocks could cause panic and speculation in international markets and contribute to price volatility,”
“Utter destitution” for north Mali displaced: ICRC
14 Feb 2013
“The displaced… had to leave everything behind and are living in utter destitution,”
Becoming refugees once more: Palestinians from Syria return to Gaza
13 Feb 2013
More than 60 percent of the population does not have secure access to food,39 percent live under the poverty line,and 29 percent are unemployedMore than 60 percent of the population does not have secure access to food,39 percent live under the poverty line,and 29 percent are unemployed
Needs assessment fatigue in Bangladesh - less is more
31 Jan 2013
According to the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Bangladesh is ranked one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, with cyclones striking coastal regions almost every year.
Palestinians face growing food crisis
29 Jan 2013
“Palestinian wages have not kept pace with inflation… Many poor Palestinians have exhausted their coping mechanisms (taking on loans, cutting back consumption) and are now much more vulnerable to small price increases than they were,”
Difficult recovery after Chad floods
28 Jan 2013
Though the water has since receded, thousands of Chadians remain homeless in the capital and in the countryside, where farms were flooded, crops ruined and pasture destroyed. Aid groups and the Chadian authorities provided immediate help but the search for long-term solutions remains difficult.
Rohingya in Thailand - safe for now
28 Jan 2013
The mainly Muslim Rohingya have long faced persecution in Myanmar, where they are de jure stateless under Burmese law; in Bangladesh most Rohingya refugees are unwelcome and face discrimination
Mozambique flooding creates displacement crisis
27 Jan 2013
Sitting under a large mango tree surrounded by a group of women and children, Guamba cooked two small pots of rice and beans over a fire. "We bought this on our own at the local market, and it is not enough for us all,” she said. “We are sleeping here under this tree; we don't even have mosquito nets.”
Jakarta flooding highlights prevention gaps
23 Jan 2013
Heavy flooding in 2007 killed 57 people and displaced more than 420,000 in Jakarta. The authorities put the total damage that year at nearly US$695 million.
Chad's health system struggles to combat malnutrition
23 Jan 2013
“It’s good news that patients have stopped coming because we have less malnutrition, but on the other hand it’s also bad news because that means that since we as MSF are phasing out, access to this kind of care is very much reduced unless a new actor steps in to support the Ministry of Health in the longer run,”
Food insecurity the next crisis for northern Mali
22 Jan 2013
Aid agencies are worried the blockages could aggravate already unusually high food insecurity levels in the north: of the 1.8 million people in the north, 585,000 are food insecure and more than 1.2 million are at risk of food insecurity, according to a WFP food security assessment.
South Africa searches for solutions to shack fires
22 Jan 2013
At least five people died and over 4,000 more were made homeless in Khayelitsha in the early hours of 1 January when a wall of fire, aided by strong winds, tore through an informal settlement called BM Section. Over a thousand shacks were burned to the ground.
People return to battle-scarred Malian town of Diabaly
22 Jan 2013
Resident, Mariam Sissoko, was one of the first who had fled the fighting to return. “I no longer recognize Diabaly. Everywhere you look there are burnt-out cars and tanks, destroyed buildings, the stadium has been completely destroyed, frontless shops have been looted,” she told
Analysis: The right to food in Bangladesh
22 Jan 2013
The 1996 World Food Summit defined food security as “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”.
Widespread flooding hits Southern Africa
21 Jan 2013
"In South Africa’s northern Limpopo Province, floodwaters claimed 10 lives and left hundreds stranded after the Limpopo River burst its banks. By 22 January, the rain had subsided, but rescue operations were still underway in Musina, near South Africa’s border with Zimbabwe"
Indonesian Authorities Battle Floods in Jakarta, Death Toll Rises
19 Jan 2013
While life slowly got back to normal downtown, tens of thousands remained affected by the waters elsewhere in the city of 14 million people.
Humanitarians unable to access Mali combat zones
17 Jan 2013
“The market is closed, the streets are deserted. People who didn’t flee are like prisoners. They are too scared to leave their houses because of aerial bombardments. In some households there is nothing left to eat”
WASH woes for Myanmar's Rakhine IDPs
17 Jan 2013
“If we don’t act soon to provide WASH systems in Myebon and Pauk Taw particularly, the situation can be desperate in one or two months and can turn into a health crisis.”
Flooding compounds hunger fears in Malawi
16 Jan 2013
At least 9,000 households have been affected by flooding since October 2012, according to Gift Mafuleka, deputy director for the Department of Disaster Management Affairs. The flooding has so far resulted in three deaths and significant damage to property and crops.
Fear, rumour and relief as air strikes continue in Mali
15 Jan 2013
“People are continuing to flee for the south for fear of reprisal killings from Islamists who are now assimilated among the local population, and for fear of French attacks,”
SYRIA: Mustafa, "The army came to my home to fire on the rebels from the veranda"
10 Jan 2013
During military operations in a given area, the army would close off entry and exit to the area for days at a time. Soldiers had visited before. Sometimes they asked for bread or simply helped themselves to food in the fridge.
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Ermelo declared water disaster area
09 Jan 2013
"In the last six or seven weeks, we indicated, as a Municipality, that we are affected with a situation where two of our main dams, which is your Brummer and Douglas Dams that are actually the source of water of our area, particularly your Wesselton and Ermelo, were actually at that point at around 30 t0 35% in terms of capacity. But now what has happened, as we speak, we are lying at around between 10 and 12%"
REFUGEES: The urban challenge
08 Jan 2013
“If you have a camp setting, it’s easier to count people, to provide a school, to provide a health centre. But for refugees, being in their own apartment, and being able to take their own decisions with cash assistance is preferred,”
JORDAN-SYRIA: Tempers flare as heavy rain pounds camp
07 Jan 2013
Za'atari camp's population has been rising quickly in recent weeks, with an average daily arrival of 1,100 people. It is now home to 54,000 Syrian refugees, according to official UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) registration figures, and 63,000 according to Mahmoud Omoush, who manages the camp on behalf of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO)
3 Dead, 4000 homeless after New Year blazes
01 Jan 2013
The blaze destroyed 15 formal houses and left 220 shacks in smoldering ruins. According to Solomons-Johannes, 800 people have been left without homes
4,000 homeless after fires
31 Dec 2012
"The blaze destroyed over 800 shacks leaving more than 3,000 people homeless"
PAKISTAN: Struggling to provide for flood victims
26 Dec 2012
“Pakistan is the kind of country where different types of natural disasters can hit at any time. These last few years have been a big learning process for us, and we have tried to ensure that past mistakes are not repeated.”
DISASTERS: Asia's 2012 figures and trends
10 Dec 2012
The number of people living in flood-prone urban areas in East Asia may reach 67 million by 2060.
DISASTERS: Slow-onset disasters take toll
06 Dec 2012
“The persistent water-logging of the Satkhira region in the country’s southwest is currently the most significant slow-onset disaster plaguing the country.”
Analysis: Disasters waiting to happen
06 Dec 2012
"Disasters with very large impacts happen very rarely... This means that a much greater proportion of the risk is associated with rare events.”
Analysis: When lack of early warning becomes manslaughter
03 Dec 2012
“This trial and the verdict represent an extremely worrisome precedent that must be considered by scientists when offering their services in the interests of public safety,”
Natural disasters made history in 2011
26 Nov 2012
Doha is an important moment here to show the world that the most vulnerable are not left behind with the unavoidable consequences [of climate change]
EGYPT-OPT: Contingency planning, despite ceasefire
22 Nov 2012
People are putting together a plan, so that if more assistance needs to go in, everyone is ready and everyone knows their role
DRC: No power, little safe water in Goma
21 Nov 2012
Despite the risks, lake water has become a commodity. "We can't drink the rainwater because of the volcano," said a young man as he drew water from Lake Kivu to fill one of eight 20-litre jerrycans strapped to his bicycle
SRI LANKA: Scraping by with scrap
21 Nov 2012
As darkness spreads, men, women and even children approach the trucks to empty their small sacks of rusting pots, vehicle parts and other metals.
In-Depth: More to it than just land - lessons from Burundi
20 Nov 2012
More than half a million Burundian refugees have returned home over the last 10 years as the effects of a 2000 peace accord took hold. Many have returned to their land, and most have received assistance with shelter, food, health and education.
In-Depth: Imagining the future of migration
20 Nov 2012
To improve the long-term understanding of migration, RMMS has partnered with the International Migration Institute (IMI), at the University of Oxford, to explore possible scenarios for the future of migration in the Horn of Africa over the next 20 years.
MADAGASCAR: Sentenced to malnutrition
20 Nov 2012
The US State Department’s 2011 human rights report on Madagascar said chronic malnutrition affects as much as two-thirds of prisoners in some prisons and is the most common cause of inmate deaths.
LEBANON: Concern for Syrian refugees as winter approaches
20 Nov 2012
“It is very hard living in Lebanon, everything is too expensive and we can’t find jobs. And now I’m worried about the winter. We don’t have blankets, gas or heaters,”
Evacuate, Israel tells Gaza
19 Nov 2012
"A further escalation would be dangerous and tragic for Palestinians and Israelis."
OPT: Gaza hospitals need more drugs
18 Nov 2012
“It’s more dangerous now than before, and we expect that things will be worse if ground operations start”
Israel continues deadly Gaza air raids
18 Nov 2012
"Eight Palestinians killed as Israeli fighter jets hit Hamas government compounds, tunnels and power transformers".
SOUTH AFRICA: CLIMATE CHANGE: Fungi offer non-GM way to enhance food crops
08 Nov 2012
@Fungi and other microbes could enable food crops like maize, wheat and rice to grow in high temperatures and salty soils, and even withstand erratic rainfall, say microbiologists,"
MYANMAR: UN calls for urgent action on Rakhine
02 Nov 2012
"The needs of the displaced people in Rakhine are urgent,” UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ashok Nigam told IRIN from Yangon.
Thousands quit Myanmar
27 Oct 2012
"Unless the authorities also start addressing the root causes of the violence, it is only likely to get worse"
Myanmar: 22,000 displaced
26 Oct 2012
More than 22,000 people from mainly Muslim communities have been displaced by fresh unrest in western Myanmar that has killed dozens and seen whole neighbourhoods razed.
Analysis: Not-so-open borders for Syrian refugees?
25 Oct 2012
"Over 10,000 desperate Syrians fleeing the terror of aerial bombardment and shelling are stuck on the Iraqi and Turkish borders, many living in miserable conditions."
TOGO: Simmering discontent ahead of polls
24 Oct 2012
“The situation is very worrying. The opposition is hardening its stance and the government doesn’t seem to be listening. Holding elections under such conditions is a risky bet and a threat to peace,”
SOUTH AFRICA: South Africans borrow to buy food
23 Oct 2012
"It is no longer that consumers are borrowing to buy a new car, but to get food on the table."
BANGLADESH: Where landslides are becoming a man-made disaster
23 Oct 2012
Over 100 people have been killed by landslides in Bangladesh this year alone, say local media.
Hundreds killed in Pakistan flooding
18 Oct 2012
350,000 people have been forced from their homes and another 4.7 million people affected by the flooding since August 22
BANGLADESH: Rohingya refugees face more restrictions
12 Oct 2012
Under Burmese law, they are de jure stateless and face constant persecution,say activists, while in Bangladesh they are barred from employment.
MYANMAR: Displaced Rohingya living "worse than animals"
03 Oct 2012
“Their condition is worse than animals.”
MALI: Struggling to deliver aid to rebel-held north
23 Sep 2012
lack of access to remote areas made it impossible to get a real idea of how many people had died during the crisis.
UGANDA: Patients go private as state sector crumbles
22 Sep 2012
The northern Amuru District, has a single state-employed doctor for a population of 234,000
SWAZILAND: Cattle die in the thousands
21 Sep 2012
"The cattle did not have any layer of body fat [due to malnourishment] to shield them from the cold and to use as energy to generate heat"
MALAWI: Shrinking lake threatens livelihoods
20 Sep 2012
"Even if the rains come, the chances of the lake coming back are low"
GAMBIA: Stepping up pressure on human rights
19 Sep 2012
“In the past you could go for years without knowing if a death had even taken place so it’s been a positive response,”
NIGER: Child mortality slashed
19 Sep 2012
More than 330,000 children under the age of five were at risk of malnutrition, it noted. A harsh drought and high food prices have left more than 18 million people in the Sahel facing starvation.
Donors lend a helping hand
13 Sep 2012
The Al-Imdaad Foundation handed food parcels to over 700 families ...
FOOD: Another strain of deadly wheat fungus in S.A
12 Sep 2012
Rising prices of staple grains have added momentum to efforts to control such outbreaks [of stem rust]
BANGLADESH: More data needed on child trafficking.
12 Sep 2012
“I don’t remember my parents’ name or address, but I remember they used to love me very much and I miss being at home,” said 14-year-old Mossamat Monira Begum.
FOOD: Recognising the African woman farmer
11 Sep 2012
"All too often, men think that work on gender means that they will lose out, and historically it is true that programmes focusing on women only have ignored men’s real needs"
OIC Delegation Concludes Its Visit Of Observation In Myanmar
10 Sep 2012
OIC Delegation Concludes Its Visit Of Observation In Myanmar
CHAD: Floods affect tens of thousands
06 Sep 2012
The floods have caused at least 13 deaths, affected 445,725 people and inundated about 255,720 hectares of cropland.
TOGO: Disease, death stalk cramped prisons
04 Sep 2012
Togo’s 12 prisons - many of them dilapidated - hold more than twice their designed capacity.
In Brief: CAR refugees face urgent needs in DRC
04 Sep 2012
"They lack both food and non-food items. The refugees are 5 times more numerous than the local population,”
PAKISTAN: IDPs escape conflict - not memories
04 Sep 2012
"I wept through the journey from my village to Jalozai. I never wanted to leave my home. I thought I would go back in 20 days. It has now been a year," she said, sitting in the courtyard of a makeshift tent compound.
SRI LANKA: Refugees in India reluctant to return
03 Sep 2012
“My relatives who have returned say `Don’t come. ‘There aren’t any jobs and the cost of living is too high’,”
LEBANON-SYRIA: The refugee minefield
02 Sep 2012
"We prefer to deal with this problem smoothly and quietly without any problem that might create [a] new civil war in Lebanon "
SYRIA: Politics trumps humanitarianism
31 Aug 2012
The humanitarian situation of hundreds of thousands of people in need of assistance inside Syria has been - as usual, aid workers would say - largely neglected.
PAKISTAN: Preparedness doubts for monsoon season
28 Aug 2012
The first heavy rains of the 2012 monsoon, which have claimed at least 26 lives in northern Pakistan over the past four days, with torrents sweeping away houses and inundating villages
Quraan offers hope to Disaster-stricken
27 Aug 2012
“At Al Imdaad, humanitarian aid is complete and quite holistic. Yes, we are giving people relief aid; emergency aid. At the same time we are also there to recite Quran for them."
Myanmar allows OIC mission to enter Arakan
16 Aug 2012
The Myanmar government gave the go ahead after a delegation from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) met President of Myanmar Thein Sein in Yangon (Friday 10 August 2012)
Global Islamic body (OIC) urges aid to Myanmar Muslims
03 Aug 2012
Rohingya Muslims living in Malaysia hold placards during a rally in Kuala Lumpur.
UN calls for inquiry over Muslim massacre in Burma
31 Jul 2012
The UNHCR says that about 80,000 people had been displaced in and around the towns of Sittwe and Maungdaw.
PAKISTAN: Preparations for the monsoon
17 Jul 2012
"Without additional funds, humanitarian agencies will struggle to provide the necessary assistance to communities at risk of increased vulnerability from consecutive flooding in the past two years"
BANGLADESH: Floods leave thousands food insecure
11 Jul 2012
“We need to support the villagers now or we will face serious food shortages in the region soon”
Briefing: Crisis in North Kivu
10 Jul 2012
The total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in eastern DRC topping two million for the first time since 2009
AID POLICY: Accountability in Islam
05 Jul 2012
"If you are doing charity simply to fulfil your own requirement, then accountability is not there …Accountability is going to come when you are thinking from the perspective of the beneficiary"
Laylatul Baraa'ah Message from the CEO
04 Jul 2012
On this special night, we make dua for the people of Shaam (Syria) and wherever human beings are suffering. This is a night of forgiveness and we need to forgive one another and move on to a brighter future.
Operation Winter Warmth for eThekwini
30 Jun 2012
EThekwini Municipality in partnership with the Al-Imdaad Foundation donated 1200 blankets and 15 wheel chairs to needy residents during the launch of Operation Winter Warmth at Durban City Hall on Sunday, 01 July 2012.
In Brief: Rain in Comoros brings flooding, crop damage, disease
20 Jun 2012
“The rains were unheard of. Even the very old people told me that they have never seen anything like it in their life.”
BANGLADESH: Dhaka’s shrinking wetlands raise disaster risks
20 Jun 2012
“Nowadays, even an inch of rain will cause water-logging in Dhaka. Heavy rainfall can easily flood the whole city,” Rahman said.
COTE D'IVOIRE: "Everyone is looking for safety"
17 Jun 2012
"It's survival for the fittest. Everyone is looking for safety," said Fabrice Kouablan, a primary school teacher who fled to Duékoué after the attack on 8 June...
DISASTERS: Insuring against dry days in Africa
12 Jun 2012
”Early action can lead to direct cost savings on commodities and logistics, and prevent dislocation in markets. Evidence suggests the savings that result from early action could be significant”
PAKISTAN: Sindh 2011 flood victims brace for monsoon
11 Jun 2012
“I am currently living in a shack made of wood pieces, straw and plastic. How will my elderly parents and three small children survive these conditions when the rains come?
In Brief: DRC cholera outbreak worsens
07 Jun 2012
Limited access to safe water sources is a major problem in the DRC
INDONESIA: Report card on disaster preparedness
07 Jun 2012
Disaster's toll climbs; has readiness kept apace?
SYRIA: Laila, "I had to be smuggled into Jordan"
05 Jun 2012
“My husband put me and the children on a truck along with other women - all rebels’ wives. I feared that could be the last time I would see him.
DRC: IDPs weigh options as fighting rages in North Kivu
04 Jun 2012
“Close to 100,000 people have been uprooted from their homes by the recent wave of violence in… North Kivu.
BANGLADESH: 40,000 slum residents face eviction
21 May 2012
“We cannot sleep at night, not knowing whether we will be evicted the next day or not.”
IRAQ: Mine-free target of 2018 target will be missed
21 May 2012
IRAQ: Mine-free target of 2018 target will be missed
YEMEN: Struggling to get by
21 May 2012
“We can barely afford our necessities. Before, it was easy to afford things like milk, bread, water, and vegetables. Nowadays we can hardly afford these, and we avoid all the luxuries. Before, it was cheap and easy to get around in a taxi, but fares have now doubled because the cost of fuel is so high.”
KENYA-SUDAN-SOUTH SUDAN: Back in Kakuma camp
21 May 2012
“We walked for 30 days to arrive here and the children are now tired. My mother died here the last time we were refugees. Now we are waiting for registration to start a new life again.”
AID POLICY: Supporting humanitarian innovations
20 May 2012
AID POLICY: Supporting humanitarian innovations
GAMBIA: Small country with a big crisis
17 May 2012
"Almost 60 percent of its people have been affected by food shortages - one million of the 1.7 million population are in need"
PAKISTAN: Measles outbreak linked to conflict
16 May 2012
Azmat Siddique, a doctor based at a clinic near Miramshah, said: ‘We need more help to tackle the problem." He said help was “unlikely to come”, given the situation in the agency.
PAKISTAN: Water woes compounded by internal disputes
16 May 2012
"There used to be a water-well near our village," said Manni Bibi, who lives in Khuzdar District in Balochistan. "But it has dried up and now the other women and I have to walk nearly 6km to fetch water from a pond.
DRC: North Kivu in turmoil again
15 May 2012
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the clashes have displaced 40,600 people since April. For many of them this is the third time they have been forced to flee their homes since the mid-1990s.
KENYA-SOMALIA: Life on the margins of Dadaab
15 May 2012
“I never thought it would be so difficult here in Dadaab. We are caught between scorching sun and flooding rain under tents that prevent none of them,” said Kadija at the Kambioos extension camp.
NEPAL: Government launches new malaria campaign
10 May 2012
"There were about 216 million malaria cases globally in 2010, with an estimated 655,000 deaths."
YEMEN: Alarm bells over worsening humanitarian crisis
07 May 2012
YEMEN: Alarm bells over worsening humanitarian crisis
PAKISTAN: Tough times for IDPs living outside camps
02 May 2012
PAKISTAN: Tough times for IDPs living outside camps
OPT: Blame game defers solution to Gaza's energy crisis
01 May 2012
OPT: Blame game defers solution to Gaza's energy crisis
Comoros: Aid workers arrive as emergency declared
01 May 2012
"nearly 50,000 people have been affected by the rains, including more than 9,000 who were forced to leave their homes."
LIBYA: Thousands still afraid to return home
30 Apr 2012
LIBYA: Thousands still afraid to return home
BANGLADESH: Jaheda Begum, "I can't feed my family"
30 Apr 2012
BANGLADESH: Jaheda Begum, "I can't feed my family"
Quake triggers Indian Ocean tsunami warning
10 Apr 2012
"Indonesia issued a tsunami warning after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Sumatra"
Food prices may go up
08 Apr 2012
On 4 April, fuel went up by 71 cents. Food prices and other necessities are likely to go up soon. The poor will be mostly affected by the price hikes
AIF busy in Syria
26 Mar 2012
Qari Ziyaad Patel, International Projects Coordinator and Trustee hands over a blanket and bedding to a Syrian refugee
Joint effort for Madagascar
21 Mar 2012
"Our emergency relief teams, accompanied by the Deputy Minister Mr Marius Fransman landed at the Antananarivo Military Base where we were received by the Government of Madagascar and the Army," Qari Patel reported.
MADAGASCAR: Tropical storm Irina claims 72 lives
11 Mar 2012
“Many houses are flooded and people are taking refuge in central locations. The population is at great risk from crop loss and people might well lose their livelihoods,”
Tropical storm Irina killed 72 in Madagascar
07 Mar 2012
More than 300,000 people on the island have been made homeless in two killer cyclones this year.
SYRIA: Towards better coordination of aid response
06 Mar 2012
"In the case of Syria, a large number of Islamic organizations want to do something, but they do not know how. If they find an answer to this question, they will do wonderful work "
Cyclone Irina wreaks havoc in KZN
04 Mar 2012
Hilton Sibiya in one of the houses that collapsed at the Kennedy Road informal settlement in Durban.
Traumatised Syrians flee to Jordan
02 Mar 2012
"Jordan, of course, has a long history of hosting and accommodating refugee populations, from Palestinians to Iraqis. "
MADAGASCAR: Giovanna struck with little warning
22 Feb 2012
" I've been through three cyclones so far, and this is the worst one yet. It went on the whole night "
High food prices lead to malnutrition
14 Feb 2012
“These children are just the tip of the iceberg, because in the world today, one child in every four is stunted or severely under grown due to malnutrition. In many countries, it’s one in three and even more than that.”
World lacks enough food, fuel - UN
31 Jan 2012
"Even by 2030, the world will need at least 50 percent more food, 45 percent more energy and 30 percent more water."
Heavy rain, flooding hits Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces
19 Jan 2012
Heavy rains, flooding hits Mpumalanga & Limpopo Provinces
AIF to open ECDC in Bloemfontein
15 Jan 2012
"AIF is pleased to announce the handover of the ECDC in Mangaung in Bloemfontein will take place on Saturday, January 7 and will be attended by the honourable President, Jacob Zuma as the guest of honour."
President Zuma applauds AIF
10 Jan 2012
"Applauding the Foundation for its sterling efforts in striving to serve poor South Africans, Zuma urged AIF to ensure that its virtuous efforts continued beyond the ECDC. Premier of the Free State, Ace Magashile, who presided over the day’s proceedings, also praised AIF’s efforts."
Media missed Turkish quake
20 Dec 2011
"It has also always been the policy of AIF to respond to those disasters where not much media hype has been achieved and also to deliver relief aid those areas where no aid has been delivered."
AIF of to Turkey
07 Dec 2011
"Whilst heart wrenching images surfaced, AIF worked hard behind the scenes with its partners in the region to assist those affected by this disaster. The team comprising members from our UK offices, as well as the media, is now heading to the city of Van to oversee on-going distributions of humanitarian aid," Patel stated.
KZN downpour kills eight
29 Nov 2011
"At least eight people were reported dead, about 700 houses had been destroyed and thousands had been left displaced in KwaZulu-Natal, following last night’s heavy downpour, the eThekwini Disaster Management Unit said on Monday."
Earthquakes have a bigger health toll than other disasters
16 Nov 2011
"In the past decade, earthquakes have caused more than 780,000 deaths - almost 60% of all disaster-related mortality."
EID MESSAGE FROM THE AMEER
08 Nov 2011
"We take this opportunity to wish one and all a happy Eid Mubarak!"
TURKEY EARTHQUAKE: Teen found after four days
28 Oct 2011
" The Turkish authorities now say 570 people are known to have died in Sunday's 7.2-magnitude quake - more than 2,500 were injured."
OIC Alliance Pledges to Dig 682 Boreholes in Somalia
25 Oct 2011
"Twenty-seven organizations including Al Imdaad Foundation pledged to dig the boreholes in one year."
Somali Situation Better: AIF
18 Oct 2011
"Qatar Red Crescent’s director of health said to me that only a relief organization with high levels of skills, experience and capabilities is able to navigate the needs of the many in this country. "
AIF to send 3rd Mission to Somalia
19 Sep 2011
“This would be the third team AIF put together that will leave around 30 September and they will go into the areas in Mogadishu and other areas as well,” said AIF’s Qari Ziyaad Patel.
CEO’S EID MESSAGE - 1432/2011
30 Aug 2011
"As part of AIF’s humanitarian strategy towards the Somalian Famine Crisis , we have setup a field office in Mogadishu. This office will allow us to facilitate our humanitarian work in the region for at least the next 36 months and medium to long term projects are already under negotiation. "
AIF's Robust Response for Somalia
20 Aug 2011
AIF's 2nd relief team arrives in the region. Request duas for the success of this mission.
Ramadan Message from the CEO AIF
31 Jul 2011
" The cries of our starving children in Somalia are presently being resonated across the globe."
KENYA: Locals feel the strain as refugee numbers soar
16 Jul 2011
" About 1,300 Somalis are arriving at the Dadaab refugee camps in northeast Kenya every day. The help they are seeking - refuge from a severe drought and the effects of years of conflict"
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Food Parcels Distributed to Bay Flood Victims
15 Jun 2011
" Community members of different areas are in deep distress as many people do not know where they will be sleeping tomorrow, because many shacks and poorly built RDP houses have been washed away completely."
AIF comes to the aid of the Windy City after flash floods
10 Jun 2011
"Apart from witnessing the destruction caused by the floods, the team also witnessed the poor and sordid living conditions of the people of these areas."
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PORT ELIZABETH: Flood Havoc
10 Jun 2011
"On the outskirts of Uitenhage yesterday, five schoolchildren and three teachers had to be airlifted to safety after the bridge across the Palmiet River collapsed. "
AIF Timeline of Events - WINTER WARM 2011
05 Jun 2011
AIF TIMELINE FOR ITS ROBUST WINTER WARMTH OPERATION 2011
AIF Winter Gets Started
27 May 2011
"The project is set to run throughout winter, as 50,000 blankets is a lot to distribute, compared to last year when the organisation distributed 35,000 blankets to areas around the country."
A Veiled Women alongside the AIF Serve Humanity
19 May 2011
Ayesha was a source of astonishment for a female Polish journalists that she met while at Choucha Refugee camp. Ayesha recounts, “She said that she was shocked to find a veiled woman alongside an aid agency assisting in the refugee camp.”
Serving Humanity from Behind the Veil
16 May 2011
“She said that she was shocked to find a woman in hijaab carrying out aid work in a refugee camp.” She was so taken with Ayesha’s dedication that she took numerous photographs and asked probing questions about Islam.
2010 Disasters Which Affected the most People
10 May 2011
2010 Disasters which affected the most people
'Leaving behind whatever dies’
15 Apr 2011
The severe drought in Ethiopia has made headline news. But it has also scorched northern Somalia – a region far less able to cope with the impact.
Hectic period for AIF
14 Apr 2011
"As the winter season sets in, the AIF is gearing up for a robust winter warmth distribution across all nine provinces and plan to roll out some 50 000 quality blankets countrywide."
CEO's Message - April 2011
11 Apr 2011
"Alhumdulilah, we are extremely humbled and pleased to announce the 4th International office of the Al-Imdaad Foundation."
Stranded at the border - and frustrated
07 Apr 2011
"In all, 174,176 people have crossed from Libya to Egypt in the past five weeks, including 281 with injuries. In the last few days 2,500 Libyans have been crossing each day, according to UNHCR. "
Libya Needs Holistic Approach
25 Mar 2011
"It is indeed a heartfelt sight to see so many men, women and children disorientated and stateless," said AIF spokesperson, Qari Ziyaad Patel"
AIF reaches out in Libya
20 Mar 2011
"According to AIF spokesperson, Qari Ziyaad Patel, thousands of refugees have fled to the borders of Tunians and Egypt with little or no belongings, desperately fearing for their lives. This has urged the international community to respond."
Deadly Tsunami hits North-Eastern Japan after massive Quake
09 Mar 2011
A tsunami warning covers Japan, the Philippines, Hawaii, the Pacific coast of Russia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and also Central and South America
2 Million Litres water for Beaufort West
08 Mar 2011
"As you enter Beaufort West and drive over the bridge where a river is supposed to be, you will notice that there is only rubble. The area is scorching hot and in dire need of rain urgently and we contniue to make Duah that this will happen soon."
Beaufort West thanks AIF & the Muslims of SA
01 Mar 2011
"The AIF team then attended a town council meeting at which it was awarded with the Freedom of Beaufort West award, a very special and lofty status to be honoured with. "
AIF Helps Pakistan Blind
09 Feb 2011
"We have undertaken different projects for emergency relief in Pakistan. However, this project is focused on the blind. There are 1.8 million blind and partially sighted people in Pakistan."
AIF continue relief efforts
09 Jan 2011
" In the past week it came to the rescue of people affected in Newcastle, Ladysmith and Dannhauser, assisting with relocations and providing food to those in need."
Beaufort west Water Crisis
19 Dec 2010
"The municipality has restricted its community to twelve Kilolitres per household per month and completely cuts the water supply every thirty-six hours"
Sheikh Abu Bakr Al-Shatiri & QZP Tour - United Kingdom
27 Nov 2010
Hear more about the activities of the Al-Imdaad Foundation on this ground breaking tour
Haj a time of wonder for young S. African revert
16 Nov 2010
"Among them was a call from Yaqoob Vahed of Al-Imdaad Foundation. He instantly announced that he would sponsor my Haj trip next year. That is how I am here."
NATIONAL CO-ORDINATOR'S EID MESSAGE
13 Nov 2010
“It is neither their flesh nor their blood that reaches ALLAH; it is your piety that reaches Him,”
Merapi's Latest Eruption Pushes Death Toll to 156
09 Nov 2010
"Merapi's deadly eruptions continue as Indonesia struggles to recover from a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that triggered a 10-foot (3-meter) tsunami."
Indonesia tsunami deaths increase after Sumatra quake
25 Oct 2010
"Our latest data from the crisis centre showed that 108 people have been killed and 502 are still missing."
FIRST SA NGO TO RESPOND TO THE PAKISTAN FLOODS
19 Oct 2010
"20 million affected by devastating floods and the Al –Imdaad Foundation was the first South African NGO to respond to the Pakistan floods in late July 2010"
Supertyphoon Megi weakens
18 Oct 2010
"Megi caused landslides that led to the closure of main roads, inundated farmlands and damaged power lines that caused widespread black outs in northern Philippines."
My Very First Aid Mission alongside AIF
06 Oct 2010
" Al Imdaad has brought 330 tons of relief aid to Pakistan on this leg of their ongoing missions to Pakistan. The respect and cooperation from officials from all walks of the country speak alone of the significance of this aid, the difference that the NGO is making and the reliability and credibility of the founders. The foundation uses an identification card system to track all aid provided and to keep count of distribution which establishes its transparency."
Flood like no other: Morton
03 Oct 2010
After three days of visiting villages in the flood-ravaged Punjab province in Pakistan, VOC News senior journalist and Drivetime presenter Shafiq Morton reported on Wednesday that damage is widespread, unlike he or relief agency, the Al Imdaad Foundation (AIF) has ever seen before. “We have seen flood damage about 40 to 50 kilometres away from the Indus Valley. People often forget that Pakistan is a huge country, home to almost 180 million people.
More than 1,000 homeless after Alex shack fire
03 Oct 2010
More than 1,000 homeless after Alex shack fire by Phakamile Hlube
"Floods; act of God" by Shafiq Morton
03 Oct 2010
EXCLUSIVE: VOC News senior journalist and Drivetime presenter Shafiq Morton is in Pakistan, travelling along with the Al Imdaad Foundation, on its latest aid mission to the flood-ravaged region. This is his account of his fifth day on the road, delivering aid.
"Aid needed desperately" by Shafiq Morton
03 Oct 2010
A delegation of ulema, relief workers and journalists travelling on board an aid mission to Pakistan with the Al Imdaad Foundation met the Federal Minister of Education in Islamabad on Monday evening. According to VOC News senior journalist and Drivetime presenter, Shafiq Morton, who is a member of the delegation, Qumar Kaira, describing the floods as “the worst in the known history of the region. He said the disaster was a calamity and an opportunity.”
Aid mission heads to Punjab - by Shafiq Morton
27 Sep 2010
VOC News senior journalist and Drivetime presenter Shafiq Morton is in Pakistan, travelling along with the Al Imdaad Foundation on its latest aid mission to the flood-ravaged region. This is his account of his second day on the road, delivering aid.
First-Hand Account of Flood Disaster by M.H Sader
01 Sep 2010
First-Hand Account of Pakistan Flood Disaster by M.H Sader, AIF Team Member
Pakistan Flood Relief Situation Update - 28 August 2010
28 Aug 2010
28/8/2010 - Pakistan Flood Relief Situation Update
National Coordinator's Message
26 Jul 2010
Ramadan Message from the National Coordinator of the Al-Imdaad Foundation
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AIF kicks off SLICE4LIFE campaign in KZN
25 Jul 2010
Hungry Patients relieved after receiving sandwiches
Ramadan is a Special Time for All Muslims
23 Jul 2010
Poor Muslim Families look foward to AIF's Pre-Ramadan Food Hamper
AIF Launches Vlakfontein ECD Centre
17 Jul 2010
The Al-Imdaad Foundation successfully delivered the AIF Vlakfontein Early Childhood Development Centre
AIF Adheres to Call from Disaster Managment
24 Jun 2010
AIF assist homeless fire victims from Alexandra Township, Johannesburg
AIF Responds to the Earthquake in Haiti
21 Jan 2010
AIF delivers over 100 tons of aid in Port-au-Prince
AIF send tons of Food Aid to Zimbabwe
21 Feb 2009
Zimbabweans rely on neighbouring South Africans for basic commodities
Year End Crisis in Gaza
29 Jan 2009
AIF responds on the third day of the Bombardment making it the first South Afrcian NGO to respond to the crisis
NIGER: Famine looms, but no help coming
26 May 2005
Dakar, 27 May 2005 (IRIN) - While Niger's food situation deteriorates by the day at the onset of the lean season, emergency funds requested to alleviate the plight of villagers forced to eat wild fruit and scavenge in ant-hills have failed to come, United Nations agency officials said this week.
Fishermen suffered huge material toll from tsunami, UN figures show
12 Jan 2005
13 January 2005 – The Indian Ocean tsunami disaster that came from the sea exacted an inordinate toll from those that live from the sea beyond its deadly haul of 160,000 lives, destroying tens of thousands of fishing boats and other equipment that were the only source of income for many, according to United Nations figures released today
