Weekly Summary

- In North America, acute respiratory disease activity continued to decrease and is lower than expected in some areas

- In the Caribbean, all countries reported unchanged and decreasing trends in acute respiratory disease, except Barbados, which reported an increasing trend

- Central America reported decreasing

PHILIPPINES: UMCOR EXPANDS TYPHOON RESPONSE

UMCOR Philippines disaster response efforts are providing relief and rehabilitation support to un-reached and underserved communities hardest-hit by Typhoons Ketsana and Parma.

Through an appeal issued by UMCOR's partner Action By Churches Together (ACT), UMCOR Philippines is working with Christian Aid, Lutheran World Relief, and National Council of Churches in the Philippines to coordinate responses and share information about assessments, materials and outputs. UMCOR is providing food relief, shelter materials, livelihood

- ARGENTINA: Heavy rains displaced around 16,000 people due to floods and seven (7) deaths were reported

- URUGUAY: The rise in the level of the Uruguay River forced the evacuation of 7,000 people.

- ECUADOR: A drought caused by El Niño is worsening water problems.

ARGENTINA: Heavy rains displaced over 10,000 people due to floods and seven (7) deaths reported

URUGUAY: The rise in the Uruguay River's level left around 7,000 evacuated.

BOLIVIA: The region of El Chaco was declared in a drought emergency in October/November 2008

FLOODS

Heavy rains continue to affect several countries in South America. In Argentina over 10,000 were evacuated. In Uruguay, the number of evacuees has increased to almost 7,000 people across the national territory.

ARGENTINA: The persistent bad weather has

Current Situation

The Bolivian government has confirmed the emergency status in six departments of the country because of droughts. The emergency declared departments are: In the Bolivian Chaco desert ( Tarija, Chuquisaca and the Cordillera Province in Santa Cruz) and the Altiplano (La Paz, Oruro and Potosi)

Due to the extreme shortage of water at the Cordillera Province, the departmental government and the municipalities of the Machareti and Gutierrez Provinces (Boyuibe, Cuevo and Camiri) had

Weekly Summary

- Respiratory illness activity remained above what is expected for this time of year in Canada, Mexico, and the United States; in the United States, the proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza remained above the epidemic threshold

- The United States is investigating

« En mettant l'accent sur les enfants et les jeunes, notre gouvernement va aider les enfants qui vivent actuellement dans la pauvreté à devenir des adultes pleins de ressources, actifs et productifs, prêts à travailler pour se bâtir un meilleur avenir, a déclaré la ministre Oda. Les enfants et les jeunes qui vivent dans la pauvreté

UNA VENTAJA COMPETITIVA

En América Latina y el Caribe vive 8% de la población mundial pero la región cuenta con 31% de los recursos totales de agua fresca (Asia tiene 60% de población y solo 28% de agua fresca). Esta ventaja es evidente:

En electricidad

- El agua provee 68% de toda la generación de electricidad en la región (más de 80% en Brasil), en comparación con el promedio mundial de menos de 16%.

- Fuente barata de electricidad, renovable, neutral en términos de emisiones de gases de carbono, con margen para crecer:

- Apenas 30% del potencial hidroeléctrico