Conor Lenihan TD, Minister of State for Irish Aid, today announced important funding for on-going humanitarian emergencies. A considerable portion of the funding package (total €6 million) will go to emergencies not receiving international attention, frequently referred to as "the forgotten emergencies".

"It is particularly important that the international community should not turn its back on those humanitarian crises which, while no longer appearing on our television screens, continue to cause very real hardship and suffering - particularly for the most vulnerable

SG/SM/10813, SC/8923

Following is the text of remarks today by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the Security Council:

Thank you, Mr. President, for those very kind words. And thank you also for proposing the resolution that the Council has just passed -- by which, needless to say, I am deeply honoured.

Barring unforeseen crises in the next nine days -- which in this Council, of all places, one should never rule out -- this will be my last meeting with you as Secretary-General. I must thank the Council not only for using it to pass such a generous resolution,

Over the next few years the Netherlands will give extra support to provide children in emergencies with education. Agnes van Ardenne, the Minister for Development Cooperation, has entered into an agreement to this effect with the UN Children's Fund Unicef. A €166 million contribution will be used to support a Unicef programme that aims to provide 25 million children and young people in 40 countries with a better education and a more promising future.

The programme will enable 10 million children who are currently deprived of any form of education whatsoever

SG/SM/10813
SC/8923

Following is the text of remarks today by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the Security Council:

Thank you, Mr. President, for those very kind words. And thank you also for proposing the resolution that the Council has just passed -- by which, needless to say, I am deeply honoured.

Barring unforeseen crises in the next nine days -- which in this Council, of all places, one should never rule out -- this will be my last meeting with you as Secretary-General. I must thank the Council not only for using it to pass such a generous resolution,

YOKOHAMA - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed an aid package totalling JPY 930 million (US$8 million) from the Government of Japan to assist millions of vulnerable people affected by conflict, natural disasters and HIV/AIDS in five African countries and the occupied Palestinian territory.

The contribution will buy cereals, pulses, fortified blended food and canned fish to support the vulnerable people affected by erratic rainfall, drought and HIV/AIDS in Malawi, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as internally displaced persons (IDPs) and

Rome, 15 December 2006 - A new film, Blood Diamond, focuses on how profits from the diamond industry fuelled Sierra Leone's brutal conflict in the 1990s -- a period when WFP food aid was a lifesaver for the thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire.

Paul Arès talks to WFP web writer Michelle Hough about his experiences as WFP regional manager for West Africa from 1997-2000.

When Paul Arès fell into conversation with diamond traders in hotel bars in Sierra Leone, they would tell him they dealt in "melons and bananas".

"They were referring to the colour of

Thanks to gift of books from "twin" school in Aberdeen Scotland

Aberdeen, Sierra Leone, 13 December 2006: School children in Aberdeen's Municipal School will be enjoying some educational reading material this coming year, thanks to a gift from Kingswells School in Aberdeen Scotland which has become a "twin school" to it's namesake.

Today, Mercy Ships Sierra Leone delivered the books to the Aberdeen Municipal School's Principal Ms. Fatu Cole.

When Rotarian David Peters visited the municipal primary school of Aberdeen last year, he had the idea of twinning

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Les épidémies de choléra ont refait surface dans la sous région. En novembre 2006, des cas de choléra ont été rapportés dans 5 pays de la sous région: le Sénégal, la Guinée, la Côte d'Ivoire, la Sierra Léone, et le Libéria. La résurgence de la poliomyélite constitue une préoccupation de santé publique au Niger, où 11 cas ont été signalés depuis le début de l'année.

Les disponibilités céréalières apparentes du Sahel au titre de la campagne 2005-2006 laissent présager de bonnes projections sur la situation alimentaire du Sahel. Cependant, certaines

Dakar, 5 décembre 2006 : Les Nations Unies lancent ce mardi à Dakar un appel de fonds de 309 millions de dollars pour l'Afrique de l'Ouest afin de couvrir les besoins en aide humanitaire de cette région, l'une des plus pauvres du monde, pour 2007.

L'appel est destiné à couvrir les besoins humanitaires, tous secteurs confondus (agricole, alimentaire, eau, assainissement, santé, lutte contre les violences sexuelles, protection des enfants affectés par les conflits armés...) dans 16 pays de la sous région. Il s'agit du Bénin, du Burkina Faso, du Cap Vert, de la Côte d'Ivoire, de la Gambie,