NAIROBI, 6 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - An estimated 11 million people in East Africa and the Horn of Africa continue to face critical food shortages brought on by drought and non-natural factors, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has said. Full report

NAIROBI, 30 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - Eastern Africa, which lies in the migratory path of birds that may be infected with avian influenza, must establish more effective measures against the deadly virus, an official of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned. Full report

ADDIS ABABA, 18 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Rodrigo Rato, has appealed for adequate and timely assistance to east African nations in the grip of severe drought. Full report

NAIROBI, 16 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - More effort and resources are necessary to eliminate landmines in Somalia, Sudan and Uganda, where years of conflict have left thousands of people maimed or killed by the explosive devices, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) said. Full report

NAIROBI, 7 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - The 2006 annual UN appeal to donors for humanitarian aid for the Great Lakes region, which is for US $154.5 million, has begun focusing more on recovery efforts while still providing emergency relief, UN officials said at the appeal's launch on Tuesday.Full report

ADDIS ABABA, 28 Oct 2005 (IRIN) - Ethiopia on Thursday became the latest eastern African state to ban poultry imports from countries hit by the deadly strain of bird flu, a government official said. Full report

AMSTERDAM, 13 Oct 2005 (IRIN) - The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, has adopted a 2005-2015 "European Union Strategy for Africa", in which Europeans have committed to increase aid to Africa.Full report

GOMA, 26 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - Hundreds of former militiamen now serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo's 4th army Brigade deployed to the troubled northeastern district of Ituri have been infected with cholera, Defense Minister Adolphe Onusumba said on Thursday. Full report

ARUSHA, 9 Jun 2005 (IRIN) - A company involved in the production of artemisinine, an anti-malaria drug, is due to set up extraction plants in Kenya and Tanzania to make the drug easily and cheaply available to patients, an official for the company said on Wednesday.Full report

NAIROBI, 3 Mar 2005 (IRIN) - Cannabis has remained the most abused illicit drug in eastern and others parts of Africa and several countries on the continent are major sources of the narcotic, a report released on Wednesday by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), said. Full report

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