The earthquake and tsunami in Japan on 11 March 2011 led to releases of radioactive material into the environment from the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. This report describes an initial estimate of radiation doses resulting from this accident to characteristic members of the public in populations around the world.
Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Somalia: three countries with different histories, culture and geographic locations. One thing they do have in common is the fact that all three of them have experienced conflicts that ruined their economies and forced millions to flee in search of security and a better life.
Germany, Italy, France, Russia and the United Kingdom Agree to Join the Climate and Clean Air Coalition
22 May 2012 - All Members of the G8, during a meeting at Camp David in the United States, have thrown their collective support behind a new international effort to phase-down so-called short lived climate pollutants.
Inside the big green bulk of the Red Cross Hospital in Fukushima City, Yukie Kanno is seeking reassurance as her five-year-old daughter, Nanami, is scanned for radiation – first with a geiger counter to measure the radiation level of the surface in preparation for a whole body scan to measure potential internal radiation exposure.
Class shrinks
Last year the number of girls in Nanami’s class shrank from 12 or 13 to only 5 when school resumed in September after the summer vacation. “Nanami looked sad.”
50 permanent shelters funded by the People of Japan handed over to community
UNHCR/NRC PRESS RELEASE 21 May 2012: A Japanese-funded Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) / UNHCR shelter project was today handed over to the community in Aden Suleiman (aka Aadan Salleebaan) settlement for internally displaced people in Burao, Somaliland.
Gazing across the sandy expanse of the playground, the buildings of the middle school have a forlorn look and give the impression of being completely deserted – until through the window of one faraway building, we catch sight of a few human figures moving about.
“The students in there are just finishing their lunch,” explains the principal, Toshihiko Takahama, from his office at the front of the building. They seem a very small group. “Before the disaster, we had 60 students, but only 14 have come back so far,” Mr Takahama says.
Dr. Suraya Dalil, Minister of Public Health of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan laid down the foundation stone for construction of a proprietary new hospital for communicable diseases here in Kabul on Thursday.
A special Japanese-funded hospital that would treat communicable diseases would soon take shape in the capital Kabul.
During the groundbreaking for constructing of the hospital, Afghan Health Minister Dr. Suraya Dalil termed the construction of this hospital as another important step towards to improvement of health sector in Afghanistan.
On Sunday 20th of May, H.E. Ms. Habiba Sorabi, the Governor of Bamyan, H.E. Mr. Reiichiro Takahashi, the Ambassador of Japan, and Mr. Peter Krogh Sorensen, Operations Centre Director and Representative, UNOPS Afghanistan Operations Centre (AGOC), laid the construction stone of the Foladi Valley Road in Bamyan District of Bamyan Province during the groundbreaking ceremony in the presence of H.E. Najeebullah Aoudjan, Minister of Public Works, and Mr. Michael Keating, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan .
On Friday, May 18, the Government of Japan has decided to contribute USD 5 million for Emergency Grant Aid for refugees and Internally Displaced Persons affected by the political instability in the Syrian Arab Republic through UNHCR, WFP and UNOCHA followed by the Emergency Grant Aid for USD 3 million implemented in February, 2012.
Afghanistan has begun work on a $30 million hospital for the treatment of tuberculosis, a disease that health officials say kills more than 10,000 Afghans every year.
The Japanese government is paying for the 80-bed center in the Afghan capital, which will also treat malaria and AIDS patients. Japan is the second-largest donor to Afghanistan, after the United States.
The World Health Health Organization reported 53,000 Afghans get tuberculosis each year. Afghanistan's Public Health Ministry said more people die from the disease than war-related violence.
The Fukushima nuclear accident has shown that people cannot depend entirely on governments and the nuclear industry to ensure their safety, the Red Cross Red Crescent said as it set out plans to step up its work on nuclear disaster preparedness worldwide.
Medtronic Foundation Grant Will Enable HOPE to Bring Long-term Stability and Care
MIllwood, Virginia, May 16, 2012
Medtronic Foundation and Project HOPE today announced a partnership to rebuild the Yamada General Hospital in Japan’s northern coastal town of Yamada one year after it was submerged underwater in the earthquake-triggered tsunami that destroyed the hospital and killed hundreds of people in the town.
One Little Life at a Time: Emergency Response in the Horn of Africa
In 2011, people in the Horn of Africa asked only one question: When will the rains return?
After two years of drought, 13 million people (half of them children) are still hungry and at risk of malnutrition—or worse. Families now depend on humanitarian aid to survive, many sheltered in the camps on the borders of Ethiopia and Kenya.
Authorities in Fukushima Prefecture have recently reclassified parts of the restricted zone around the nuclear plant to lift a ban on those areas where radiation levels are recorded at 20 millisieverts per year or less.
Among the three communities where residents have been allowed back to their homes, is Kawauchi village. With only 500 out of 3,000 inhabitants returning, the problems that Kawauchi faces in trying to revive itself may point to more general issues ahead.
On Tuesday, May 15, the Government of Japan decided to provide emergency relief goods worth 10 million yen (Portable Jerry Can, Plastic Sheet, etc) to the Union of the Comoros, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in response to the request following serious damage from the floods.
NATORI, Miyagi Prefecture – Contributions from the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia to the Tohoku Reconstruction Project will support rebuilding of the Yuriage City Public Market, a significant first step in helping the local farming and fishing industry.
NATORI, PRÉFECTURE DE MIYAGI - Les contributions du gouvernement du Canada et de la province de la Colombie-Britannique au Projet de reconstruction de Tohoku soutiendront la remise en état du marché public de la ville de Yuriage, ce qui constitue une mesure importante pour aider l'agriculture et les pêches locales.
Dr. Suraya Dalil, Minister of Public Health traveled to Mazar-e-Sharif, capital of northern Balkh province, inaugurating officially the newly constructed Regional 500- bed hospital there on Saturday. The hospital has been equipped with modern medical machines as well.
The ceremony held this occasion was attended by Balkh governor, Atta Mohammad Noor, Ambassadors of Germany, Japan and Sweden countries to Afghanistan and representatives of the people of Balkh in the parliament and a number of elders and influential of the province.
Japanese Embassy 's Minister for Economic Affairs Akio Isomata will attend the inauguration ceremonies for the Project entitled “Support to improve livelihood of poor farmers through production of organic and reduced-chemical produce in Nueva Vizcaya”. The event will be held in the Municipality of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya on May 10, 2012. The financial assistance for this project amounting to 42,571,511 Yen (approximately 21.3 million Pesos) is provided under the scheme “ Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects” by the Government of Japan.
