Africa

The infection culminates in worms, such as the one shown here, emerging from the sufferer’s skin. Photo: Associated Press

Guinea worm ‘almost eradicated’

by BBC News December 6, 2008

Guinea worm disease may be eliminated within two years, former US president and anti-disease campaigner Jimmy Carter has said....

Maliki Dahirou and Aboubakari Fadil supplied the World Food Program with thousands of metric tons of locally grown sorghum in 2007. Photo: David Hecht/IRIN

Cameroon: buying food aid locally also has risks

by IRIN News November 6, 2008

The port city of Douala is still a major hub for international food aid heading to Chad and Central African Republic, but the World Food Programme (WFP) in Cameroon is buying an increasing amount of its requirements locally. Of the 70,000mt of food aid WFP’s regional office in Cameroon is forwa...

Mathare slum in Nairobi is one of the biggest informal settlements in Africa. It has faced increasing difficulties in obtaining water due to cuts by official suppliers as well as the actions of cartels, gangs and illegal vendors.  Photo: Julius Mwelu/IRIN

The humanitarian impact of urbanization

by IRIN News September 18, 2008

See Report...

World Bank withdraws oil pipeline financing for Chad after government fails to use oil profits to tackle poverty

by BBC News September 10, 2008

The World Bank has cancelled an oil pipeline deal with Chad after a dispute with the government over failed pledges to use profits to tackle poverty....

Malawi AIDS patient.  The relatively low survival rate of 66% of those on drugs appears to be principally due to two factors: patients starting the treatment late or not having access to proper nutrition. Photo: IRIN News

Anti-retroviral drugs reduce AIDS deaths in Malawi: one-third of those infected taking drugs, with 66% survival rate thus far

by BBC News August 26, 2008

Distributing anti-retroviral drugs in Malawi has led to a huge fall in Aids-related deaths, an official says. Mary Shawa told the Reuters news agency that 67% of those taking the ARV drugs are still alive. ...

Kenya: struggling for peace

by Karen Allen BBC News August 20, 2008

When Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki signed a peace deal on 27 February, ending Kenya's post-election violence, people took to the streets to celebrate. The agreement, hammered out by Kofi Annan after weeks of political wrangling, paved the way for a grand coalition government. It was a br...

Ethiopia’s population has nearly doubled since 1985–now, 14 million need help as another food crisis sets in

by Rick Hampson USA Today August 18, 2008

KONSO, Ethiopia — Once, the farmers walked for hours to bring their sorghum and maize here to market. These days they trod the same paths, parched grass crunching underfoot, to carry their starving children to a feeding clinic. ...

Ethiopia faces a new food crisis

by Edmund Sanders Los Angeles Times August 5, 2008

Four-foot cornstalks sprout from rain-soaked earth, and wind billows fields of teff, the staple Ethiopian grain. Goats and cattle are getting fat on lush grasses -- but the children are still dying. "It's strange to see hunger when everything is so green," said Wariso Shete, 26, a southern Ethiop...

Although there will be a crop this year, there is little food due to past drought.  In every Ethiopian village visited there were vulnerable children, many with distended stomachs, one sign of extreme hunger. Photo: BBC

Desperation as Ethiopia’s hunger grows

by Gavin Hewitt BBC News June 8, 2008

It is a strange and unsettling ride west from the Ethiopian town of Shashamene. The fields are vibrant green. There is water in the creeks. The soil is a deep rich burgundy. However, the people here speak of a "green drought". It is the time when the land is full of new shoots but there is no...

U.S. Africa Command trims its aspirations. Nations loath to host force; aid groups resisted military plan to take on relief work

by Karen DeYoung Washington Post June 1, 2008

The U.S. Africa Command, designed to boost America's image and prevent terrorist inroads on the continent, has scaled back its ambitions after African governments refused to host it and aid groups protested plans to expand the military's role in economic development in the region. ...

  • World Hunger Education
    Service
    P.O. Box 29015
    Washington, D.C. 20017
  • For the past 50 years, since its founding in 1976, the mission of World Hunger Education Service is to undertake programs, including Hunger Notes, that
    • Educate the general public and target groups about the extent and causes of hunger and malnutrition in the United States and the world
    • Advance comprehension which integrates ethical, religious, social, economic, political, and scientific perspectives on the world food problem
    • Facilitate communication and networking among those who are working for solutions
    • Promote individual and collective commitments to sustainable hunger solutions.