MOZAMBIQUE: Community radio's sustainability to be put to the test, 21/Dec/05
MAPUTO, 21 December (IRIN) - Community radio stations have made a difference in the lives of rural Mozambicans by expanding access to information and communicating health and life skills messages. But, given their relience on donor funding, some analysts question whether they... Full Report... Email Report

PAKISTAN: Cuban field hospital works to make a difference, 21/Dec/05
DANNA, 21 December (IRIN) - Two hours along a steep road high in the mountains, is a field hospital in the middle of the village of Danna, some 40 km from Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir and close to the epicentre of the 8 October regional earthquake.... Full Report... Email Report

NIGER: Campaign targets double threat of polio and malaria, 21/Dec/05
SAY, 21 December (IRIN) - Niger launched a new offensive against two health scourges on Tuesday, vowing to protect its children from polio and malaria. ... Full Report... Email Report

KYRGYZSTAN: Boosting health services during emergencies, 20/Dec/05
BISHKEK, 20 December (IRIN) - Three new ambulances and a few hundred boxes of medicines worth US $48,000 was handed to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health (MoH) during a ceremony at United Nations house in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, on Tuesday.... Full Report... Email Report

IRAQ: New project to clean up capital and prevent skin diseases, 20/Dec/05
BAGHDAD, 20 December (IRIN) - A new project has started in the Iraqi capital to clean up rubbish dumps created in streets due to irregular collection, posing a health hazard, doctors say.... Full Report... Email Report

NAMIBIA: OVC population to double in 15 years, 19/Dec/05
WINDHOEK, 19 December (IRIN) - The number of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Namibia is expected to double over the next 15 years, a new UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) survey has warned. ... Full Report... Email Report

PAKISTAN: New immunisation campaign kicks off, 19/Dec/05
MUZAFFARABAD, 19 December (IRIN) - Health authorities in northern Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir, supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), on Monday launched the third phase of an immunisation campaign to prevent the outbreak of communicable diseases in... Full Report... Email Report

PAKISTAN: Earthquake victims and drug dependency, 19/Dec/05
ISLAMABAD, 19 December (IRIN) - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), together with the Pakistani Ministry of Health (MoH), has launched a series of awareness raising workshops as part of its efforts to prevent drug dependency and addiction among victims of the 8... Full Report... Email Report

IRAN-IRAQ: Landmine agreement signed, 18/Dec/05
BAGHDAD, 18 December (IRIN) - The Iraqi government signed a memorandum of understanding with Tehran last week aimed at eliminating landmines planted in the country during its war with Iran in the 1980s.... Full Report... Email Report

PAKISTAN: Acute respiratory infections increasing among quake survivors, 16/Dec/05
MUZAFFARABAD, 16 December (IRIN) - Sitting in his bed in a field hospital, Safir, 3, is coughing heavily, while his mother, Meerjan, gives him water to soothe the outbursts. The reason is pneumonia, say doctors at the field hospital run by the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association... Full Report... Email Report

MIDDLE EAST: Appeal to Arab world to give more to world’s poorest, 16/Dec/05
DUBAI, 16 December (IRIN) - Activists launched a joint appeal to the Arab world on Friday in Dubai, the commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates, to donate more money to ease poverty in Africa. ... Full Report... Email Report

ZIMBABWE: Health budget fails to address brain drain, 16/Dec/05
JOHANNESBURG, 16 December (IRIN) - Although Zimbabwe's ministry of health has received 12 percent of the national budget - its highest allocation to date - government officials and health experts agree that this will do little to address the brain drain afflicting the sector.... Full Report... Email Report

SENEGAL: Frozen chicken imports threaten local farmers’ livelihoods, 16/Dec/05
KEUR MASSAR, 16 December (IRIN) - Frozen chicken legs may seem an unlikely enemy, but Lamine Toure has seen the foreign imports force scores of his fellow poultry farmers to shut up shop and is worried he might be the next victim.... Full Report... Email Report

WEST AFRICA: IRIN-WA Weekly Round-up 308 covering 10-16 December 2005, 16/Dec/05
DAKAR, 16 December (IRIN) - ... Full Report... Email Report

MIDDLE EAST: MIDDLE EAST: Weekly round-up Number 52 for 11–15 December 2005, 15/Dec/05
DUBAI, 15 December (IRIN) - ... Full Report... Email Report

MIDDLE EAST: “Invisible? children suffering from neglect, says UNICEF, 15/Dec/05
CAIRO, 15 December (IRIN) - Many children in the Middle East continue to suffer from abuse, exploitation and discrimination, while health and education services are not reaching those most in need, according to UNICEF’s 2006 State of the World’s Children report. ... Full Report... Email Report

CONGO: Rural residents left high and dry for lack of clean water, 15/Dec/05
BRAZZAVILLE, 15 December (IRIN) - Although the Republic of Congo is one of Central Africa's wettest countries, the majority of its rural population has no drinkable water due to a lack of infrastructure.... Full Report... Email Report

ZAMBIA: US $20 million World Bank boost to fight malaria, 14/Dec/05
LUSAKA, 14 December (IRIN) - The Zambian government has signed a US $20 million loan agreement with the World Bank (WB) to fund a five-year booster project to combat malaria, which kills 50,000 of its people every year and causes 40 percent of infant deaths.... Full Report... Email Report

UGANDA: War-affected civilians receive reconstructive surgery, 13/Dec/05
KAMPALA, 13 December (IRIN) - Civilians in northern Uganda who were mutilated by rebel fighters during two decades of war have begun to receive reconstructive surgery, the international medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said. ... Full Report... Email Report

TAJIKISTAN: At least 17 killed by mines in 2005 –TMAC, 13/Dec/05
DUSHANBE, 13 December (IRIN) - Some 1,800 anti-personnel mines have been neutralised in Tajikistan this year, the Tajik Mine Action Centre, responsible for the clearance, said on Tuesday. ... Full Report... Email Report