The Government of India has donated an assortment of bio pesticides and sprayers to the Ministry of Agriculture worth over half a million dollars.

The pesticides and sprayers (manual and motorized) were presented today to the Liberian Government by the Indian Ambassador to Liberia , Her Excellency Shamma Jain at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Agriculture Complex in Gardnersville.

In her remarks, Ambassador Jain said the donation was her Government's initial contribution to contain the spread of the caterpillars that recently invaded several towns in three Counties

ZOTA, 20 March 2009 (IRIN) - Many Liberians in areas recently infested by crop-eating caterpillars are scrambling to find safe water as some wells contaminated by the insects have yet to be cleaned up.

"The wells and the hand-pumps most of us used to drink from are still infected with faeces," said Nowai Kollie, one of the residents in Shankpalla, the first town invaded by caterpillars in Zota District, 170km north of the capital Monrovia.

"There is a serious problem with having clean water right now in this town."

In January thousands of residents were

HIGHLIGHTS

- Caterpillar Infestation Receives Presidential Support

- Voluntary Repatriation of Liberian Refugees

- Cholera and Lassa fever Outbreak and Response

Caterpillar Infestation Receives Presidential Support

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf visited Bong County where she toured the villages of Zota District in which was recently infested by caterpillar worms. The President was reportedly dismayed to find a lack of transparency and accountability in the distribution of relief aid as many of the targeted groups had not been assisted. The President

On Wednesday March 4, 2009, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. J. Chris Toe held a regular press briefing on the caterpillar infestation in Liberia . He was joined by the Deputy Minister of Health and Social Welfare for Administration, Hon. Vivian Cherue, FAO Representative in Liberia , Dr. Winfred Hammond, and the Director-General of CARI, Dr. Joseph Q. Subah.

He told journalists (national and international) that the purpose of the briefing was to provide an update on the status of the caterpillar containment effort and to inform the public about what

HEADLINES

- West Africa holds polio vaccination days

- Measles and meningitis strike in Burkina Faso

- International Contact Group holds first meeting in Guinea

GENERAL OVERVIEW

While the food crisis remains a concern, the onset of epidemics of measles and meningitis in Burkina Faso, meningitis in Nigeria, yellow fever in Guinea, and the appearance of a number of polio cases in Ghana, Nigeria and Niger among others , is a reminder of the fragility of the region and of the need for governments, with assistance from humanitarian

A paradox: good harvest forecasts and exceptionally high cereal prices in West Africa

Local grain crops are commanding record-high prices on some markets in the midst of the 2008/09 harvest season.

The steep price increase that began in 2007/08 gathered new momentum early this year. Despite good harvests with production levels well above the five-year average and adequate supplies on most key markets across the region, the 2008/09 marketing season is getting underway with grain prices at record highs. Nominal grain prices

Contexte général

L'épidémie de choléra au Zimbabwe continue d'être une grande préoccupation pour la communauté humanitaire. Une mission humanitaire des NU de haut niveau est actuellement dans le pays pour évaluer la situation et discuter du problème avec les autorités nationales afin de contrer la maladie. Les opérations militaires conjointes (RDC et Rwanda) continuent dans l'est de la RDC. La situation sécuritaire en RCA est toujours très préoccupante.

Situation dans les pays

Crises aiguës

- Ethiopie: Les perspectives pour

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has provided one hundred thousand dollars (US$100,000) to help contain the caterpillar infestation in Liberia.

The Special Representative of the President of the ECOWAS Commission in Liberia, His Excellency Ansumana E. Ceesay presented the check Friday at the Ministry of Agriculture in Monrovia in the presence of some members of the National Task Force for the Containment and Prevention of the Caterpillars.

Making the presentation, the ECOWAS Envoy said the contribution is in response to the humanitarian crises experienced

MONROVIA, Feb 18, 2009 (AFP) - Liberia has been hit by an invasion of so far unidentified caterpillars while another species, which has attacked crops in several areas, has now crossed over into neighbouring Ivory Coast.

"On Friday ... we got information that there was an invasion of caterpillars in the Margibi County area. We know that is not the same species that was found in Bong, Gbarpolu, Nimba and part of Lofa," Agriculture minister Christopher Toe told a press conference late Tuesday.

"Our task force, our crop protection