A new era of high and volatile food prices go beyond affecting what people can afford to eat and are causing life-changing shifts in society, experts warn today.

FAITS SAILLANTS

• Les premières réponses d’urgence s’organisent face à l’afflux de populations fuyant les violences au nord-Nigeria.

• L’épidémie de choléra semble se stabiliser, aucun nouveau cas n’a été enregistré ces derniers jours.

• La récurrence des crises alimentaires pousse de plus en plus de femmes et d’enfants des zones rurales à migrer vers la ville.

Testimony, Donald Y. Yamamoto
Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs
Opening Statement
Washington, DC
May 21, 2013

[Before the House Subcommittees on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights; International Organizations; Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade; Middle East and North Africa]

Over one million people in Somalia are currently food insecure. IRIN asks experts and analysts whether the conditions that led to the famine are still in place, and whether another famine could occur.

Story by Lorraine Kazondovi

WINDHOEK - Over 50 famished cattle had to be slaughtered due to the devastating drought in the Okakarara Constituency where there is no grazing at all, Okakarara Constituency Coucillor Vetaruhe Kandorozu revealed in an interview with New Era yesterday.

Jeddah, KSA-16.05.2013 - The Islamic Development Bank is contributing US$250 million for the development of the Republic of Mali. This was disclosed by IDB Vice President (Corporate Services), Dr Ahmet Tiktik, on behalf of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). Dr Tiktik was speaking at the international conference for the reconstruction of Mali which took place in the city of Brussels on 15th May 2013.

UNICEF-supported community health agents are the unsung heroes of the conflict in Mali, playing a front-line role in saving children's lives as rebels target the formal health system.

IHA/1315

GENEVA, 21 May (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) ‑ The private sector’s potential role in building resilient societies, and especially in repairing vital infrastructure damaged by disasters, was highlighted by several panellists this afternoon at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, which opened here yesterday. Speaking at a plenary session on “Private sector for resilient societies: ingredients for success”, several panellists warned that without such a role the world’s future was endangered.

There's a received wisdom that tree stumps, shoots and bushes should be cleared from a field before planting crops. It seems logical, but the experience of farmers in southern Niger suggests otherwise. There, the practice of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) has been found to significantly improve soil quality and crop yields, along with additional resources and income from tree products.

Read the full report