NIGERIA, NIGER HARDEST HIT BY 2009 MENINGITIS EPIDEMIC – UN HEALTH AGENCY

A vast majority of the nearly 25,000 suspected meningitis cases and more than 15,000 deaths worldwide in the first three months of 2009 have occurred in the so-called "African meningitis belt," hitting Nigeria and Niger the hardest, the United Nations health agency has reported.

The bulk of the cases in the meningitis belt, stretching from Senegal to Somalia, has been in northern Nigeria, reporting 17,462 suspected cases and 960 deaths, and Niger, with 4,513 suspected cases and 169 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Vaccination campaigns are underway in the two countries, with the support of WHO, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the non-governmental organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

WHO, which is supporting the Nigerian Health Ministry's efforts to boost disease surveillance, has had technical experts on the ground since last month.

Along with its partners, WHO has released 2.3 million doses of vaccines to Nigeria and 1.9 million to Niger. Nearly 13 million doses were stockpiled for 2009, but more are needed for this meningitis season which will run from January through June.
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SUDAN: UN WELCOMES RELEASE OF ABDUCTED RELIEF WORKERS IN DARFUR

SUDAN: UN WELCOMES RELEASE OF ABDUCTED RELIEF WORKERS IN DARFUR
New York, Mar 15 2009 1:00PM

The joint United Nations-African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission to Darfur (UNAMID) has welcomed the safe release of four aid workers who had been abducted at gunpoint three days ago.

The staff members -- three international and one Sudanese national -- of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Médecins Sans Frontières-Belgium arrived last night by Government helicopter at El Fasher Aiport. They appeared to be in good condition and the three international aid workers have since departed for the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

They had been taken at gunpoint from their office in the town of Saraf Omra on 11 March. One other Sudanese staff member abducted at the same time had been freed earlier.

One of those released yesterday, Mauro d'Ascanio, an Italian doctor, said he was fine and that he looks forward to speaking with his family.

The other staff have been identified as Laura Archer, a
Canadian nurse Raphaël Meunier, a French coordinator and Sharif Mohamadin, a Sudanese watchman.

"We are very happy. This is a very good thing -- we were really concerned about this," said AU-UN Joint Special Representative Rodolphe Adada.

Mohammed Osman Kibir, the Wali, or governor, of North Darfur state, said he personally intervened by negotiating with the abductors over the telephone four times. He flew with a Government team to pick up the four aid workers.

While the identities of the abductors have not been made clear, they did inform the Wali that their actions were in response to the decision earlier this month by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir last week for alleged crimes committed in the region.

Mr. Kibir said he was able to convince the gunmen that the abduction of the relief workers reflected badly on their country and that it was in Sudan's best interest to release them, with no ransom being paid either by the Government or by the NGO.

He added that authorities would be boosting security measures to ensure the safety of aid workers and other international staff operating in the war-torn Darfur region.

Immediately after the ICC announced the indictment of Mr. Al-Bashir, the Government ordered the expulsion of 13 aid groups which assist nearly 5 million people in Darfur, and the UN has continued to press authorities to reverse the expulsions.

An estimated 300,000 people have died, either through direct combat or because of disease, malnutrition or reduced life expectancy, over the past five years in the region, where rebels have been fighting Government forces and allied Arab militiamen, known as the Janjaweed, since 2003.

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