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CENTRAL & EASTERN AFRICA : IRIN-Central & Eastern Africa Weekly Round-up 392 for 21 - 27 July 2007

27 Jul 2007 14:15:02 GMT
Source: IRIN

NAIROBI, 27 July 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

DRC: Aid workers struggle to reach IDPs in South Kivu KENYA: Pastoralists lose 100,000 animals to livestock disease KENYA: Earthquake scare highlights emergency response weaknesses

See Also: KENYA: Covering elections and promoting press freedom by phone

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73464

KENYA: Inspiring young people in slums http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73366

DRC: Aid workers struggle to reach IDPs in South Kivu

Continued insecurity and poor roads have been restricting humanitarian access to thousands of internally displaced people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to an official of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"Getting to areas where the latest displacement of the population has occurred is hampered by activities of armed groups and the fact that roads in these areas are very poor," Claude Mululu, liaison officer in OCHA's Bukavu office, told IRIN on 25 July.

He said the most recent areas to be affected were around the town of Minembwe, about 150km south of Bukavu, the provincial capital, following reports of fighting between the Congolese army, FARDC, and militia. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73401

KENYA: Pastoralists lose 100,000 animals to livestock disease

Herders in Turkana district in northwestern Kenya have lost an estimated 100,000 goats and sheep in the past year to peste des petits ruminants (PPR), a senior veterinarian in the area said.

The disease, which is not common in Kenya, was first noticed in the district in March 2006 and diagnosed in July last year, George Omori, the veterinary officer in charge of Turkana, said.

He said PPR had spread to virtually the entire district, with pastoralist communities in the administrative divisions of Lokichoggio, Kakuma, Oropoi and Kibish having lost a significant number of sheep and goats. Turkana has a population of almost half a million people. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73387

KENYA: Earthquake scare highlights emergency response weaknesses

A series of earth tremors that caused panic in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, has raised concerns over the country's ability to respond to sudden major disasters.

Major Stephen Sane, the acting head of Kenya's National Disaster Operations Centre, said Kenya lacked basic rescue equipment and the emergency medical services staff needed in the event of a serious earthquake.

His unit was created in 1998 after devastating floods, caused by the El Niño weather pattern, wreaked havoc on Kenya's infrastructure.

"Our disaster preparedness appears to be whimsical. It has not been taken seriously at the policy level," Sane told IRIN, adding that the country also lacked an emergency medical service and has to depend on the Red Cross. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73461

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Last updated:Fri Jul 27 14:17:14 2007