PR 01/10e
Rome, 1 March 2001 -- Some 60 million people in 33 countries are facing food emergencies of varying intensity, according to a .

FAO's Foodcrops and Shortages found sub-Saharan Africa worst off with 16 countries suffering from exceptional food emergencies caused mostly by natural disasters and civil strife. Despite improved weather conditions recently, the report says, the effects of the drought in Eastern Africa are still being felt in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan and Tanzania, where emergency food assistance continues to be provided

NATIONS UNIES
Bureau de coordination des affaires humanitaires
IRIN pour l'Afrique de l'Ouest
Tel: +225 22-40-4440
Fax: +225 22-41-9339
email: irin-wa@irin.ci

GUINEE: Les convois de vivres profitent à 12 000 personnes en quatre jours

L'ONG française Première Urgence, qui travaille en Guinée pour le compte du HCR, a commencé la distribution de vivres jeudi à des milliers de réfugiés et de déplacés guinéens vivant dans les camps et les villages de Teldou, Kolian et Ouladen, à environ 30 km au sud-ouest de Guékédou. Les vivres étaient fournis par le Programme

GUECKEDOU, Guinea, March 1 (AFP) - The Guinean army has recaptured the southeastern city of Gueckedou from armed rebels, paving the way for the return of its inhabitants, military officials said Thursday.

"We have restored the calm and now everyone can live in peace and quiet," Chief of Staff of the Guinean Army, Kerfala Camara, told reporters in Gueckedou.

"From now on, anyone who brings weapons into Gueckedou will not leave alive," he added.

Most of city's population of about 97,000 fled fighting in January, finding refuge in surrounding villages and cities.

Malgré l'accord de principe donné par les autorités guinéennes à Ruud Lubbers, haut commissaire de l'ONU pour les réfugiés, lors de son séjour le 14 février dernier, aucun corridor humanitaire sécurisé n'est aujourd'hui effectif. Seuls les prêtres, restés dans leur paroisse, secourent avec peu de moyens les populations réfugiées et déplacées prises en tenailles au sud-est du pays entre les incursions rebelles et les répliques de l'armée guinéenne.
Comment le feu a-t-il pris en Guinée ? =C0 qui profite les crimes commis depuis décembre dernier dans le sud-est

"Instead of attacking the rebels, the Guinean military has attacked the victims of the rebels. Civilians have borne the brunt of ten years of civil war in Sierra Leone, and unfortunately, the Guinean government is now making things worse for them."
(New York, February 28, 2001) - The Guinean military has killed and wounded dozens of Sierra Leonean civilians in indiscriminate attacks against rebel-held areas of northern Sierra Leone, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Guinean military was apparently attacking

The Newsletter of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)

EDITORIAL: HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS OVERLOOKED BY THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

NATIONS UNIES
Bureau de coordination des affaires humanitaires
IRIN pour l'Afrique de l'Ouest
Tel: +225 22-40-4440
Fax: +225 22-41-9339
email: irin-wa@irin.ci

GUINEE: Baisse des taux de mortalité infantile

Le taux de mortalité chez les enfants de moins de cinq ans dans le camp de réfugiés de Katkama en Guinée a chuté de 3.2 pour 10 000 entre le 12 et le 17 février, à 2 pour 10 000, a rapporté mardi l'OMS. Les décès des enfants arrivés à Katkama depuis le camp de Nyaedou, plus au sud, ont pu être limités grâce à l'établissement

The mission of the WHO Department of Emergency and Humanitarian Action is to increase, through a concerted effort across WHO, the capacity and self-reliance of countries in the prevention of disasters, preparation for emergencies, mitigation of their health consequences, and the creation of a synergy between emergency action and sustainable development.
New documents available on the EHA website (http://www.who.int/eha/disasters)

• Weekly Update Afghanistan, 23 February
• North Caucasus Briefing, Update Activity

United States Agency for International Development
Bureau for Humanitarian Response
Office of Transition Initiatives

Program Description

OTI's program in Sierra Leone consists of the following activities:

1. Technical assistance to the Government of Sierra Leone (GOSL) for development of a new diamond policy and operations, to enable effective control and monitoring of "conflict" diamonds; and support to civil society and NGOs for their engagement in new diamond development programs.

2. The Reintegration Training and