Water For Life™ Concerts

ALEXANDRIA Tuesday, March 30, 2010 (IRIN) - Pressure is mounting on the Egyptian authorities to do more to protect the Nile Delta, which provides up to a third of the country’s agricultural produce, from rising sea levels.

JOHANNESBURG Friday, March 26, 2010 (IRIN) - One of the most comprehensive forest reviews conducted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization shows that the rate of forest loss had dropped by three million hectares every year between 2000 and 2010.

JOHANNESBURG Monday, March 29, 2010 (IRIN) - Extensive flooding along the rivers of central and southern Mozambique during March, in tandem with persistent drought in other parts of the same areas, have left 465,000 people in need of food assistance, but aid agencies warn that they do not have the resources to help.

JOHANNESBURG Thursday, March 25, 2010 (IRIN) - The Green Revolution has a new avatar: transformed Agricultural Research for Development (AR4D), and food experts hope it will provide the panacea for hunger.

MANILA Thursday, March 25, 2010 (IRIN) - Parliamentarians from 12 countries in the Asia-Pacific region have gathered in Manila for the first regional seminar highlighting the role of indigenous people in the context of climate change and mineral rights.

JOHANNESBURG Wednesday, March 24, 2010 (IRIN) - The worst of the floods are behind them, but now the communities along Mozambique's major rivers face other serious challenges: thousands are displaced and access to food and clean water is limited.

JOHANNESBURG Tuesday, March 23, 2010 (IRIN) - A lack of clean water and sanitation in burgeoning slums could trigger a complex set of humanitarian crises says a new paper, Urban Catastrophes: The Wat/San Dimension, by the Humanitarian Futures Programme (HFP) of King's College London, which keeps an eye on possible crises that could emerge in the not too distant future.

SANAA Tuesday, March 23, 2010 (IRIN) - Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, may run out of economically viable water supplies by 2017 as available groundwater is unable to keep pace with the needs of a fast-growing population, experts warn.

JOHANNESBURG Monday, March 22, 2010 (IRIN) - Every 20 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease - 1.8 million children younger than five years each year. This alarming figure is from a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which says millions of tonnes of solid waste are being flushed into water systems every day, spreading disease.

24 March 2010 -- British R&B singer and songwriter Craig David is appointment as Goodwill Ambassador against Tuberculosis for the Stop TB Partnership. His aim will be to raise awareness about TB among his millions of fans worldwide.

JOHANNESBURG Friday, March 19, 2010 (IRIN) - A study commissioned by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has been taking stock of food security initiatives in Eastern Africa, and the authors urge those involved in such efforts to "think regionally".

NAIROBI Friday, March 19, 2010 (IRIN) - As of 15 March, 15 districts nationwide were affected with cholera, with 663 cases confirmed since January, according to a Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation update. At least 15 deaths have been recorded.

JOHANNESBURG Thursday, March 18, 2010 (IRIN) - West Africa can meet its food needs through regional trade, most agricultural experts say, if countries keep their borders open for the free flow of staple grains, especially in times of heightened stress, whether climatic, economic, or brought on by conflict.

YANGON Thursday, March 18, 2010 (IRIN) - A failure to repair crucial flood embankments damaged by Cyclone Nargis could undo recovery efforts and lead to more loss of life if another major storm hits, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization warns.

NAIROBI Wednesday, March 17, 2010 (IRIN) - God, not global emissions, is to blame for climate change, according to a survey conducted in 10 African countries. A close second, however, came deforestation, underlining the argument that there is information available – just not sufficient or effective enough to help people understand the reasons behind environmental issues.

18 March 2010 -- In some regions, one in four people with tuberculosis becomes ill with a form of the disease that can no longer be treated with standard drugs according to a new WHO report.

NAIROBI Wednesday, March 17, 2010 (IRIN) - An acute water shortage after a prolonged drought in central Galgadud region of Somalia has forced thousands of people to abandon their villages, say officials. "A prolonged drought, coupled with a drying-up of wells and barkads [water pans], is forcing many people to leave their homes," said Abdirahman Mohamed Adawe, the district commissioner of Adado, one of the areas hardest hit.

JOHANNESBURG Tuesday, March 16, 2010 (IRIN) - The price of maize, sorghum, wheat and other staple grains is likely to climb again in many food-importing east African countries, agricultural economists warn.

JOHANNESBURG Monday, March 15, 2010 (IRIN) - Tropical storm Hubert battered Madagascar on 10 March, cutting off entire communities in the southeast from emergency aid. A limited amount of relief - mainly food items - has been flown in because of damage to infrastructure, and aid agencies are trying to reach people in need of assistance via the river systems.

JOHANNESBURG Monday, March 15, 2010 (IRIN) - Cholera has claimed the lives of over 40 people in Mozambique and ongoing flooding throughout the central and northern parts of the country could "aggravate" the problem, aid agencies say.