Land deals beginning to stir discontent

HEALTH: Yaws treatment study prompts WHO review

BANGKOK, 11 January 2012 (IRIN) - Findings that a one-time oral treatment to cure yaws, a neglected tropical disease, is as effective as the currently recommended penicillin injection have prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to convene a meeting on how the disease may be wiped out. full report

AID POLICY: Spotlight on New Deal for fragile states

DAKAR, 20 December 2011 (IRIN) - At the global aid effectiveness forum in Busan, South Korea, in November and December this year, the “G7+”, a group of nations which includes 19 fragile and conflict-affected states, agreed a New Deal on fragile states, which sets out concrete and, they hope, more relevant ways to improve peace- and state-building goals. full report

SIERRA LEONE: Fistula hotline launched

FREETOWN, 22 November 2011 (IRIN) - Nurse Zainab Blell’s mobile phone has been ringing all morning at the Aberdeen Women’s Centre, a clinic in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital. After explaining to countless callers that this is a hospital line, Blell gets a genuine request for help and tries to get more details. “When did you give birth? When did you start having a problem?” full report

SIERRA LEONE: Changing the mindset around blindness

FREETOWN, 4 November 2011 (IRIN) - In Sierra Leone misconceptions about blindness are widespread, and people often blame blindness and other disabilities on witchcraft, but local and international work is being done to reduce stigma and open up opportunities, according to campaigners. full report

WEST AFRICA: Sahel the danger zone for food insecurity

DAKAR, 27 October 2011 (IRIN) - Erratic rains and high imported rice and wheat prices against a backdrop of chronic food insecurity and malnutrition in parts of the Sahel, will leave millions of people at risk of food insecurity, according to the latest crop assessments. full report

SIERRA LEONE: Amputees still waiting for reparations almost 10 years on

FREETOWN, 24 October 2011 (IRIN) - James Ponbu, 43,had his arm amputated by rebels in January 1999. After receiving medical treatment at the Connaught hospital in Freetown, he tried to return to his job at the canteen of Fourah Bay College but was not accepted back. He has found it hard to get work ever since, despite having a college degree. Even his friends shun him: “People barred me from entering their compounds as they thought I’d just ask them for money,” he told IRIN. full report

FOOD: Rumpus over GM food aid

JOHANNESBURG, 18 October 2011 (IRIN) - Genetically modified (GM) food aid bound for Africa has long been a bone of contention among governments, scientists, activists, consumers and aid workers. full report

DISASTERS: New risk index helps identify vulnerability

JOHANNESBURG, 5 September 2011 (IRIN) - A new disaster risk index launched by the UN University Institute for Environment and Human Security in Bonn could help donors and aid organizations better understand why some countries are more at risk of calamity than others, and shape their responses when disaster strikes. full report

WEST AFRICA: Smoothing the way for more pit latrines

DAKAR, 31 August 2011 (IRIN) - The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and NGOs operating in West Africa say the main barrier to more pit latrines in rural areas is not poverty or lack of resources, but a lack of understanding about costs and benefits. full report