WASHINGTON, April 16, 2012 – Eighteen African countries lose around US$5.5 billion every year due to poor sanitation, with annual economic losses between 1 percent and 2.5 percent of GDP, says a new report by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP).

“The 18 African countries represented in this study account for 554 million people—that’s more than half of Africa’s population,” said WSP Manager Jaehyang So. “This is powerful evidence for Ministers that their countries will not be able to grow sustainably without addressing these costs.”

En Afrique subsaharienne, les pertes en grains atteindraient, en valeur, 4 milliards de dollars, selon la FAO et la Banque mondialeL'investissement dans des technologies post-récolte pour réduire les pertes de denrées alimentaires entraînerait une augmentation notable des approvisionnements alimentaires en Afrique subsaharienne, selon un nouveau rapport de la FAO et de la Banque mondiale présenté aujourd'hui au cours d'une réunion d'experts de la région consacrée à cette question.Ce rapport, Aliments perdus : le cas des pertes de grains post-récolte en Afrique subsaharienne

Barbara Barungi, Kazuhiro Numasawa, Adeleke Salami and Adalbert Nshimyumuremyi

NEW YORK, 22 February 2011 - Despite an estimated 90 per cent decline in global maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) deaths over the last two decades, a newborn child still dies every nine minutes from the disease, according to the latest available figures. While MNT deaths have dropped globally from an estimated 800,000 in the late 1980s to 59,000 in 2008, the deaths that still occur are disproportionately concentrated among poor, uneducated and neglected populations.

UNICEF and other global MNT partners are gathering today in New York for a two-day meeting to discuss strategies

Outbreaks following importations of wild poliovirus into countries of the WHO African, European and South-East Asian Regions: January 2009 - September 2010

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative was launched in 1988; by 2006, indigenous transmission of wild poliovirus (WPV) had been interrupted in all but 4 countries worldwide (Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan). However, outbreaks following importation of WPV into polio-free countries remain an ongoing risk until polio is eradicated. In 2010, the first importation of WPV into the WHO European

General Background

The major concerns in the region are political instabilities in Guinea and Niger as well as the floods in Benin. In addition there are several foci of outbreaks of diseases especially cholera.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, progress toward achieving gender equality and women's empowerment has been modest, but several countries have been spearheading policies that address women's needs.

One of the most notable achievements has been to elevate the debate on gender to the national level, with countries like Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso or Liberia integrating gender concerns into their national development plans and poverty reduction strategies.

Progress in women's political representation has sometimes been remarkable. The South African election of April 2009

Contexte général

La situation socio politique en Côte d'Ivoire a été marquée cette semaine par une explosion de violence dans plusieurs villes du pays. Ceci est le résultat de débats entre l'opposition et le groupe présidentiel suite à la dissolution la semaine dernière du Gouvernement et de la Commission Electorale Indépendante par le Président. L'insécurité à l'est de la RDC n'a pas changé. En plus de cela, on note la persistance des crises habituelles y compris les épidémies. Les états membres continuent de recevoir l'appui de l'OMS pour la réponse principalement