1. Bangladesh - Tropical Storm Mahasen struck southern districts on 16 May. The Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) is ongoing and preliminary findings are due to be presented tomorrow (21 May). 17 people have reportedly lost their lives, JNA results will provide a better understand of the impact of the cyclone on shelter and livelihoods.
   Source: PDC, OCHA Flash Update No. 7

Sustaining a livelihood from the land is a daily struggle on the steep coastal mountain slopes that plunge to the sea. Now, climate change is taking its toll on the already precarious food situation.

This Humanitarian Action Plan (HAP) was developed by the Government of Solomon Islands and its humanitarian and development partners, following the earthquake and tsunami that struck Santa Cruz Islands, Temotu Province in the Solomon Islands on 6 February 2013. It has a 4 months’ timeframe and aims to facilitate coordination of the humanitarian response and early recovery by documenting the response plan and identifying gaps and requirements.

The Global Overview collates information from a wide range of sources and displays this information in a manner that allows for quick comparison of different humanitarian crises. Its primary objective is to rapidly inform humanitarian decision makers by presenting a summary of major humanitarian crises, both recent and protracted.

By Catherine Wilson

BRISBANE, Australia, Oct 1 2012 (IPS) - Climate activist Wanita Limpus, from the low-lying island nation of Kiribati in the Central Pacific Ocean, says the outcome of the Rio+20 Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in June was a serious letdown for small, developing island states.

Half of the 10 million people of the Pacific islands reside within 1.5 km of the coastline, and Limpus stressed that climate change and rising sea levels were not a prediction but a reality threatening human security now.

Pacific leaders meeting in Auckland this week must take urgent steps to eradicate endemic violence against women in the region, Amnesty International said today.

Rates of violence against women are some of the highest in the world, affecting two out of three female Pacific Islanders.

"A majority of women experience abuse in the Pacific. Yet, shockingly, there are few effective mechanisms to protect them," said Patrick Holmes, Chief Executive of Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand.