NEW UN STUDY EXAMINES HUNGER SEVERITY WITHIN NEPAL

Hunger rates are most severe in the western regions of Nepal, which already ranks near the bottom of the global hunger index, according to a new report by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), which is examining food insecurity levels within the South Asian nation.

According to the global hunger index (GHI) developed by the non-governmental organization (NGO) known as the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Nepal ties with Laos for 57th out of 88 countries, with a score of 20.6. Countries with levels under five, such as those in Western Europe, are considered to have low levels of hunger and are not included in the rankings.

The new WFP study found that levels were close to or topped 30 in the Far- and Mid-Western Hill and Mountain regions of Nepal, "pointing to an extremely alarming situation."

In particular, the score of 40.17 for the Mid-Western Mountain area is only slig
htly better than the 42.7 level for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has the worst GHI in the world.

Most of the country's 15 sub-regions fall within the alarming category, and none are categorized as either moderate or low-hunger. "This underscores the seriousness of the food security situation in Nepal," WFP said.

The assessment pointed to undernourishment, high percentages of underweight children, poverty, economic activity, agricultural productivity and access to health services driving hunger scores down.

While boosting economic growth is urgently needed, that alone is not enough, WFP warned.

"There is an urgent need to invest solidly in direct nutrition interventions to address the huge issue of child malnutrition," the agency stressed. "This includes investing in the health sector, increasing nutritional awareness, improving behavioural practices such as hand washing, breast feeding and water treatment, and providing access to proper sanitation facilities
to rural populations."
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SOMALIA: THREATS TO AID AGENCIES HAMPERING UNICEF’S LIFE-SAVING ACTIVITIES

Hostility towards relief organizations has caused the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to postpone the distribution of life-saving supplies to prevent and treat acute malnutrition in over 85,000 children in central and south Somalia, the agency announced today.

Also disrupted was the delivery of insecticide-treated bed nets for more than 100,000 women and children, according to a news release from the agency.

"We need concrete assurances from local authorities for the safe delivery and storage of supplies to ensure that we can carry out programmes for the survival of Somali women and children," said Rozanne Chorlton, UNICEF's representative in the country.

"We hope these assurances will be forthcoming very soon so that we can continue our operations at a level that matches the needs of children and women and prevent the deaths that will otherwise certainly occur," she added.

Yesterday, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, welcomed the release of four aid workers and two pilots who were abducted nine months ago and called for the freeing of remaining hostages.

"It is with great satisfaction that I received the news concerning the release of the six hostages who had been held for so long, and taken into captivity while working in Somalia," he said.

The four aid workers, who were serving with the French non-governmental organization (NGO) Action Against Hunger, and two pilots were abducted last November from an airstrip in the central Somali town of Dusamareb.

UNICEF noted today that its compound in Jowhar, central Somalia, which serves as the main hub for operations in the area, was taken over in May, with large amounts of urgently-needed humanitarian supplies and communications equipment either destroyed or taken.

Reports indicate that UNICEF emergency aid stored in a partner agency's warehouse in Jammame was taken earlier this month.

UNICEF provides vaccines and drugs in central Somalia, targeting 1.2 million children under five years of age, as well as 1.4 million women.

The UN has repeatedly called on all parties in Somalia to ensure the safety of humanitarian aid workers, who are tending to the needs of some 3 million people, or 40 per cent of the population, made vulnerable by the combined effects of conflict, drought, high food prices and the collapse of the local currency.
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TERRORISM KILLS MORE AFGHAN CIVILIANS THAN ANY MILITARY ACTION – UN MISSION

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has spoken out against the use of suicide bombings and other terrorist activities, which it says kills more civilians than any other military action.

The reaction came after last Thursday's bomb blast in Logar province which killed more than 20 people, including children on their way to school. UNAMA condemned the "barbaric" attack, the latest in a string of violence targeted at aid organizations.

"The United Nations in Afghanistan has long made clear its deep concern about the use of suicide bombs and terrorist acts in populated areas," Nazifullah Salarzai, a spokesperson for the Mission told a news conference in Kabul today.

"These are resulting in more civilian casualties in Afghanistan than any other military tactic, and must stop. The civilian population of this country has a right to be safe from violence and threats."

The head of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has also spoken out against last week's attack, stressing that the children of Afghanistan, like children everywhere, have a right to be protected from violence and to develop free of threats, intimidations and violent attacks.

"Even where they do not suffer directly from the violence, when children are not allowed to feel safe at school or travelling to school, their education and their prospects suffer, and the futures of their families and their communities are undermined," said Ann M. Veneman.

UNICEF has recorded 98 school incidents in the period from 1 May until 24 June 2009, including direct attacks by small arms and rockets, arson, and threats. Ms. Veneman said these attacks "pull the country backwards and threaten the significant advances that have been made in education and child health in recent years."

Recent violence has also targeted those trying to help the fledgling democracy rebuild. Last month three national staff members of a local non-governmental organization (NGO) were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was destroyed by a roadside bomb in Jawzjan province. In addition, the office of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Kunduz was attacked in early June with a rocket-propelled grenade having been fired at the compound.

The ongoing violence is of particular concern as the country gears up for presidential elections slated for 20 August. The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, Kai Eide, has highlighted the critical importance of the upcoming polls, noting that it is about more than choosing the country's future leaders.

"After years of conflict and developments that have not met Afghans' expectations, it is important to strengthen peoples' confidence in the democratic processes, and to strengthen Afghanistan's democratic institutions. It is about the legitimacy of leadership," he stated.

The UN has called on all candidates to campaign with dignity and avoid language that could incite violence, and on government officials and institutions to avoid interference during all phase of the election process.

It has also appealed to all voters to take part in the polls, stressing that such participation is essential to the legitimacy of the election results.
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WOMEN’S CENTRES RE-OPEN IN DARFUR WITH HELP FROM AU-UN MISSION

Female internally displaced persons (IDPs) will again be able to learn job skills, take literacy classes and receive awareness programmes on reproductive health after the joint African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) helped reactivate women's centres at an IDP camp in the Sudanese region.

UNAMID's Gender Advisory Unit has worked with the North Darfur state Ministry of Social Affairs to relaunch the centres at the Abu Shouk IDP camp on the outskirts of the state capital, El Fasher. The centres, which will be run by a local non-governmental organization (NGO), had closed last year.

The Abu Shouk centres are expected to carry out several activities aimed at helping women gain livelihoods, including tailoring, candle-making and handcrafts. There will also be adult literacy classes, and awareness programmes on women's reproductive health, and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

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RELIEF, JOY AT UN REFUGEE AGENCY OVER RELEASE OF COLLEAGUE ABDUCTED IN PAKISTAN

The United Nations refugee chief and his staff around the world have welcomed the safe release of colleague John Solecki, who was freed over the weekend in Pakistan after two months in captivity.

"It is a very happy day," António Guterres told hundreds of staff gathered in the Geneva headquarters of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) yesterday. "We were all ecstatic the day before yesterday when the news came and when finally – I must say, it was one of the best days of my life – I could speak to him late Saturday."

Mr. Solecki, the agency's head of office in Balochistan's provincial capital Quetta, was abducted in an attack on 2 February that also left another colleague, Syed Hashim, dead.

Following a message from his abductors, the Baloch Liberation United Front, the 49-year-old Solecki was located on Saturday night in Khadkhutcha, some 50 kilometres south of Quetta. He was flown out of Pakistan on Sunday and is now undergoing medical examination before flying to the United States to see his family.

Mr. Guterres said his Saturday night phone call with Mr. Solecki convinced him that he had endured his ordeal "with lots of courage and determination and that we can all be very proud of him. And I think the same can be said about his family.

"I hope John will be able to join us soon, and it will be a great moment for all of us," he added.

At the same time, Mr. Guterres highlighted the increasing dangers faced by aid workers and called for respect for the humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence.

"It is important that in this moment of celebration we do not forget other colleagues in these dramatic circumstances," he said.

Just a couple of days ago, two international staff from the French non-governmental organization (NGO) Aide Medicale Internationale were kidnapped in Sudan's Darfur region.

"We need to make sure that these kinds of events do not go on multiplying in a way that is representing a major threat to the humanitarian community, narrowing our humanitarian space and a major concern for all of us," said Mr. Guterres.
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AHEAD OF INTERNATIONAL DAY, UN AGENCY URGES RELEASE OF DETAINED STAFFER IN PAKISTAN

On the eve of the International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members, the UN refugee agency is again appealing for the immediate release of John Solecki, who was abducted in Pakistan nearly eight weeks.

"The last we heard, John's health was deteriorating and we are increasingly worried about his medical condition," Ron Redmond, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters in Geneva today, the 50th day of captivity for the agency's head of office in Quetta.

Mr. Solecki was abducted in an attack on 2 February that also left another colleague, Syed Hashim, dead.

A group known as the Balochistan Liberation United Front claims to be holding him and has demanded the release the people it says are in Pakistani custody. Since 2004, rebels in the province have called for political autonomy and a larger share of natural resource profits.

Mr. Solecki is one of 19 UN staff members currently under arrest, detained or missing.

The annual International Day is aimed at raising awareness globally of the risks faced by UN staff and its non-governmental organization (NGO) partners and journalists in carrying out their work.

"High Commissioner António Guterres and more than 6,000 UNHCR staff in some 120 countries around the world don't really need a special day to remember John because he and his family have been in our thoughts each and every day since 2 February," Mr. Redmond said.

"But the High Commissioner wants to take this occasion to remind everyone that attacks on humanitarian workers are occurring all too often and in far too many places around the world," he added. "People like John Solecki have one goal – to help those in need. Attacking them hurts all of us, but especially the most vulnerable."
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ZIMBABWE’S CHOLERA DECLINING BUT CONTINUED VIGILANCE VITAL, SAYS UN HEALTH AGENCY

While noting an overall downward trend in the number of cholera cases and deaths in Zimbabwe over the last two months, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today urged continued vigilance, citing the very real risk of the outbreak restarting in some areas.

According to an update issued today by the agency, some 2,076 cases were reported in the week ending 14 March, which, although still high, is down from 3,812 cases in the week prior and over 8,000 cases per week at the beginning of February.

In addition, the weekly Case Fatality Rate has decreased from its peak of near 6 per cent in January and stood at 2.3 per cent for the week ending 14 March.

"While data collection and verification remain a challenge throughout the country with the effect that weekly statistics are not always accurate or complete, the overall trend over the last two months is of a decreasing number of cases and deaths," WHO said.

As of 17 March, 91,164 cases of the water-borne disease have been reported with 4,037 deaths since the country's worst-ever outbreak began in last August.

WHO states that while cases have decreased in all provinces, they are increasing again in and around the capital, Harare.

"The risk of the outbreak restarting in those areas of the country is real," notes the agency. "The need to remain vigilant and to continue and reinforce the control measures already in place is paramount."

WHO and its Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) partners have a sizeable team working out of the national Cholera Command and Control Centre in Harare.

Their efforts, along with partner UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), have been vital in tackling the outbreak in the Southern African nation, which has a dilapidated water and sanitation infrastructure and a weak health system.
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