Kathmandu, Nepal (AHN) – Six years after the end of a decade-long armed conflict, Nepal’s ex-Maoist fighters who have been languishing in various satellite camps have begun leaving their cantonments.

The process started Friday in the three major camps–Sindhuli, Chitwan and Nawalparasi–and was scheduled to begin in the other four main camps from Saturday. The entire process is expected to be over in two weeks.

The lengthy conflict ended in 2006 after killing nearly 14, 000 people and replacing a century-long Hindu monarchy with a secular republic country.

This is an important part of Nepal’s ongoing peace process.

The Maoist combatants have been monitored since 2007 by the United Nation’s political mission that oversaw the storage of weapons and the soldiers’ registration, verification and housing. After the UN left Nepal in 2011, Nepal’s political party agreed to set up Special Secretariat to look after them.

After completion of this process, integration of the Maoist combatants in the national army and the social life of the nation will begin.

Out of the 19,000 UN-verified combatants, 7,365 combatants who chose voluntary retirement will head to their homes after the Maoist party hosts a formal farewell ceremony on Feb. 11. Another 9,000 opted for integration into security agencies.

Those who opted for retirement will receive around $ 6,300 to $10,200 from the government in installments.

The Maoist guerillas, under the aegis of the UCPN (Maoist) party, which is now largest political party in Nepal’s Constituent Assembly, fought to set up a hardcore communist regime in Nepal.

View full post on Social Issue Stories

Hargeisa, Somaliland, Somalia (IRIN) – Cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), as well as domestic violence, are increasing in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Hargeisa, capital of the self-declared independent Republic of Somaliland, with social workers attributing the trend to hard economic times made worse by recent drought in the region.

“Numbers of the displaced have increased in recent months, with many families coming to town to escape drought; lack of a police presence within the camps and inadequate lighting have contributed to the increase in some of these cases,” Shukri Osman Said, an SGBV coordinator for an NGO, Comprehensive Community-Based Rehabilitation Somaliland (CCBRS), told IRIN at the Stadium IDP camp in Hargeisa.

The Stadium IDP camp, home to an estimated 5,000 families (30,000 people), is one of several IDP camps in Hargeisa where humanitarian organizations such as CCBRS have ongoing programs aimed at addressing SGBV among vulnerable communities.

According to Said, CCBRS has been running the SGBV program in the IDP camps since 2006 with funding from the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR.

“On average, CCBRS handled between 15 and 20 cases of SGBV per month; however, we have noticed that the cases of domestic violence have increased dramatically; in 2011 alone, we had over 500 cases of domestic violence,” Said told IRIN.

“Our SGBV prevention program has helped somewhat because the SGBV cases have started reducing; our concern is the rise in domestic violence, which is mostly due to men not coping well with economic hardship and ending up venting their frustration on their wives.”

The CCBRS program, she said, had a component targeting those with physical disabilities and provided orthopedic aids – such as wheelchairs – to some of the affected IDPs. SGBV coordinators from CCBRS also made home visits for physiotherapy sessions, provided counseling and psycho-social support and referred those requiring specialized treatment and/or legal aid to relevant institutions.

“Most of the victims of SGBV are poor and cannot afford treatment in private hospitals; some cannot even afford the transport to public hospitals, so we help by referring them to the Sexual Assault Referral Centre in the main hospital in Hargeisa,” Said told IRIN.

“We also refer those requiring legal aid to organizations that help women seek justice.”

Hawo Yusuf, a member of the management committee at the Stadium IDP camp, said the committee supported SGBV survivors by helping them be accepted by society.

“We help construct shelter for those in need of a place to stay, especially those who become pregnant; we help by tracking and [apprehending] the perpetrators, although our efforts are frustrated when these people are freed without being charged with any offense.”

Livelihood projects

According to UNHCR Somaliland, Hargeisa is home to approximately 85,000 displaced people who have fled their homes mostly from south and central regions of Somalia, due to various reasons, including drought, limited livelihood opportunities and increased violence.

“IDPs often live in difficult conditions, more often than not with limited access to basic facilities such as adequate healthcare, good shelter and clean water and sanitation amenities, ample security as well as employment opportunities,” the agency said.

“UNHCR engages IDPs in Hargeisa in various projects like solar lighting or animal husbandry that will equip them with the necessary skills to start up their own businesses and provide a better life for their families.”

CCBRS is implementing an income-generating project, funded by UNHCR, aimed at empowering woman in the IDP camps. Started in 2008, the project has helped transform the lives of the IDPs by providing them with better livelihoods.

Fouzia Hassan, mother of eight and one of the beneficiaries, told IRIN: “All my children are now in school, thanks to the US$600 grant I received to boost my bread-making business. My business has expanded and I now make between 55 and 65 loaves a day, something I could not have dreamt of doing before the start of this project.”

Hassan said she can now take care of her family better: “I can meet their medical bills, I have built a latrine for the family’s use and I have installed a water tank, this is now my home. It has changed my life and my family’s.”

js-ah/mw

– Provided by Integrated Regional Information Networks.

View full post on Social Issue Stories

Atlanta, GA, United States (AHN) – There’s no place like home–when it comes to giving birth.

According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of home births in the United States has risen dramatically since 2004.

Births taking place outside of the traditional hospital setting increased 29 percent between 2004 and 2009, from 0.56 percent of all births, to 0.72 percent, or almost 30,000 births.

For non-Hispanic white women, the increase was most pronounced, with a 36 percent increase.

The rise in home births is believed to be attributed to personal preference, although some experts point to the lower costs of giving birth at home.

Highlights in the report include:

• Among white women, home births increased 36 percent, from 0.80 percent in 2004 to 1.09 percent in 2009
• For white women, home births account for one in every 90 births
• In other racial and ethic groups, home births are less common
• Home births are more common among women aged 35 and over, and among women who have had other children.

Births that occur in the home more often involve lower risk pregnancies, with fewer among teenagers or unmarried women, and fewer pre-term, low birth weight or multiple births.

In 2009, home births varied from a low of 0.2 percent in Louisiana and the District of Columbia, to a high of 2 percent in Oregon and 2.6 percent in Montana.

Some of the benefits of home birth are privacy, comfort and continuing care from someone who women have a more personal relationship with.

The biggest objection to home births are concerns about safety for both the mother and the infant.

View full post on Social Issue Stories

Niamey, Niger (IRIN) – Nearly half Niger’s population does not have enough to eat and the government says it is facing a grain shortfall of 692,501 tons, following another severe drought across the Sahel.

The government says it needs 3.8 million tons of cereals to feed six million people spread across 6,981 villages, equating to 49.4 percent of the affected zones.

In a survey conducted in November 2011, the government’s Early Warning System projected the 2011-2012 “winter” gross cereal production for millet, sorghum, rice, wheat and fonio (one of West Africa’s most ancient cereals) at 3.8 million tons – 27 percent down on 2010-2011. Grain production last season was about 3.2 million tons.

The Early Warning System, which monitors and forecasts food security needs, has identified three major areas as reporting deficits: Tillabéry in the west; Agadez in the north; and Diffa in the east; with respective shortfalls of 164,146 tons, 123,576 tons, and 68,115 tons.

Boukanda, a village with a population of 1,000 about 50 kilometers west of the capital Niamey, is typical of many food insecure villages which have been largely abandoned by their younger residents.

“The able-bodied and young people of the village preferred to leave for big cities or abroad. They have little to do here,” Adamou Talba, the marabout (religions teacher) of Boukanda, said.

Only a few “wealthier” families pound sorghum instead of millet, the main staple of the village. These people still have small supplies but they will not last long.

“There’s just a little bit in the granary,” said Balkissa Adamou, a villager.

Boukanda village chief Seyni Seydou said the rains ended just when the plants needed water, and grasshoppers and other insects finished off the crops.

“In our village, some people have been left with just seven bundles [of grain], whereas previously nearly 700 could be harvested,” he added. The Early Warning System puts Boukanda’s food deficit at 90 percent.

Appeals for help

Concerned by the current situation, Cheick Boureima Abdou Daoud, a citizen of Niger, donated 3,000 tons of cereal to the relief effort. “I want to kick-start action so that other citizens of Niger, who can afford it, can also help those in need,” he said.

While previous governments tended to avoid admitting to food crises, the current government is different: In August 2011, it asked for 100 billion francs CFA (about US$198 million) in donor aid.

President Mahamadou Issoufou, addressing the UN General Assembly in September 2011, said: “Knowing that we would have a very large deficit this harvest crop, we decided… to alert the international community. I would like, at this highest level of this forum, to renew once more our appeal to help Niger.”

Donors have pledged help, and the UN has launched a Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) for $229 million.

“The CAP aims to provide humanitarian aid and to strengthen the resilience of millions of men, women and vulnerable children,” said Guido Cornale, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative in Niger who is also acting humanitarian coordinator in the country.

bb/oss/cb

– Provided by Integrated Regional Information Networks.

View full post on Social Issue Stories

Washington, DC, United States (KaiserHealth) – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is promising a legal challenge to federal rules the Obama administration reaffirmed Friday requiring health insurers to provide women with a range of preventive health services, including birth control, without charging a co-payment, co-insurance or deductible.

The Department of Health and Human Services made no changes to a rule released in August that exempted some religious organizations, like those that employ or serve people who follow its religion, from the requirement. But religious organizations that do not meet those qualifications would be required to provide contraceptive coverage to employees. While churches are exempt, for example, religious universities and hospitals are not.

The rule goes into effect Aug. 1. Religious institutions that aren’t exempt get an additional year, until August 1, 2013, to comply with the regulation.

Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said she believed Friday’s announcement “strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services.”

Abortion rights opponents had challenged the rule, which is part of the health law, arguing that contraception violates the religious beliefs of some Americans, and that some forms of emergency contraception, including Plan B, are akin to early abortion. Religious groups also wanted a broader exemption. Friday’s announcement didn’t make them any happier.

“There really is no change,” said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the bishops. “What has been announced is that they are going to delay an enforcement. It’s as if they said ‘We’ll give you a year to figure out how to violate your conscience.’” The bishops’ group “will fight this edict; they have no choice but to fight this edict,” she said.

Other Catholic organizations were also upset. The Catholic Health Association called Friday’s announcement “a missed opportunity to be clear on appropriate conscience protection,” Sister Carol Keehan, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

But abortion right proponents, who feared the Obama administration might back down from the original rule, were pleased.

Planned Parenthood praised the ruling, saying that it is “grounded in sound medical science and health policy and protects access to affordable birth control for millions of women, including women who are employed by a religiously affiliated hospital, university, or other religiously affiliated organization that serves the broader public.”

Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said the decision means that “millions will get access to contraception—and they will not have to ask their bosses for permission.”

HHS officials said Friday that the agency had received approximately 200,000 comments on the regulation, which covers all Food and Drug Administration approved forms of birth control. While emergency contraception is covered, abortion is not, they said.

Friday’s announcement will no doubt give Democrats and Republicans alike new ammunition in their ongoing debate over the sweeping health law that has been under attack ever since President Barack Obama signed it nearly two years ago.

Proponents of the law hailed the announcement as additional proof that it is expanding coverage for all Americans. Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., said the decision “marks a tremendous victory for women’s health and equality, and will ensure that women have access to affordable contraceptive coverage.”

Conservatives who oppose the health law point to the ruling as another example of the administration overstepping the rights of individuals and institutions. “This ruling forces religious organizations to violate the fundamental tenets of their faith, or stop offering health insurance coverage to their employees,” said Chris Jacobs, health policy analyst for the Republican Policy Committee.

– Provided by Kaiser Health News.

View full post on Social Issue Stories

Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial marked its first holiday named for the slain civil rights leader Monday with a controversy.

Shortly after the memorial was dedicated in August, it became obvious that an inscription at the base of the 9.1-meter high statue inaccurately quotes King.

It says, “I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.”

A columnist for The Washington Post researched King’s speeches just after the dedication ceremony to discover the true statement.

During his sermon titled “The Drum Major Instinct” two months before he was assassinated in November 1968, King said, “Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness.”

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last week ordered the National Park Service to correct the inscription or find a new one within 30 days.

The National Park Service is now working with the King family and their foundation to come up with a modification to the inscription.

Visitors to the memorial discussed the controversy and their reasons for visiting the memorial Monday morning with All Headline News.

“It’s a mockery,” said Rory Cavanaugh Wilson, a Washington, D.C., carpenter. “It’s not a complete quote.”

Benjamin Dudley, a project management consultant from Washington, said, “I can see the concern people had and I agree with it.”

The inscription is deeply etched into the base of King’s standing image, which prompted Dudley to say, “The only thing is that it’s going to cost a ton. The logistics are going to be challenging.”

Other visitors believed visiting the memorial on Martin Luther King Jr. Day was important, regardless of any controversy about an inaccurate quote.

“I first came here when I was 12 years old when he did the ‘I have a dream’ speech,” James Jamison, a Baptist minister from Wilmington, N.C., told All Headline News.

He and his family left their home in North Carolina at 3 a.m. Monday so they could visit the memorial on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“It brings me to tears when I read about it,” said Jamison, who added that he touched the monument during his visit. “It’s like historical.”

President Barack Obama discussed the memorial Monday during a visit to a Washington school to promote volunteer service.

Regardless of whether the inscription is a misquote, it should be read as a call to action, he said.

“I know there’s been a lot of controversy lately about the quote on the memorial,” Obama said. “If you look at that speech about Dr. King as a drum major, what he really said was that all of us could be a drum major for service, all of us could be a drum major for justice, and there’s nobody who can’t serve, nobody who can’t help somebody else.”

The poet Maya Angelou, who knew King personally, told The Washington Post the misquote makes King look like “an arrogant twit.”

The truth is that King “had no arrogance at all,” Angelou said. “He had a humility that comes from deep inside. The ‘if’ clause that is left out is salient. Leaving it out changes the meaning completely.”

Obama and his wife planned to attend a celebration later in the day at the Kennedy Center to honor King.

The day started in Washington with a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial.

The Washington National Cathedral held a special religious service for King Monday. King preached his last sermon at the cathedral before he was shot and killed by an assassin at a Memphis motel.

In addition, the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation posted about 200,000 new documents on its Web site related to his life and civil rights efforts. They include his personal notes, letters to Vice President Richard Nixon and telegrams to President John F. Kennedy.

In one Aug. 30, 1957 letter to Nixon, King wrote, “It is almost my firm conviction that the full effect of the Civil Rights Bill will depend in large degree upon the program of a sustained mass movement on the part of Negroes. History has demonstrated that inadequate legislation supported by mass action can accomplish more than adequate legislation which remains unenforced for the lack of a determined mass movement.”

View full post on Social Issue Stories

Trenton, MI, United States (AHN) – Kathleen Edward, the sick 9-year old girl who made national headlines after being taunted by a neighbor on Facebook, has lost her battle with Huntington’s Disease.

Kathleen’s father told Fox2 News Detroit that his daughter passed away at 10:07 p.m. Wednesday. Kathleen suffered from the degenerative brain disorder Huntington’s Disease, the same ailment that took her mother and grandfather.

Kathleen made national news in October 2010 after her grandmother’s neighbor, Jennifer Petkov, posted lurid images on her Facebook page that poked fun at Kathleen and her mother Laura.

One picture was of Kathleen’s face with her eyes closed and a pair of crossed bones beneath it. Another was a photo of Laura in the arms of the Grim Reaper.

Petkov admitted to reporters that she posted the pictures.

The open display and acknowledgment of the cyberbullying drew a great deal of backlash for Petkov. It also drew scores of well-wishes for little Kathleen. Thousands turned up for a rally in October 2010 to help raise money for the Edwards family and volunteers took Kathleen on a shopping spree at a local toy store.

Petkov, 33, has since apologized for her actions. She is currently on probation for assault with a dangerous weapon and reckless driving after police said she attempted to run over another neighbor with her car just after the story and pictures went viral.

Funeral arrangements for Kathleen are pending.

View full post on Social Issue Stories

London, England, United Kingdom (AHN) – Age related memory loss is widely believed to begin around the age of 60, but new research shows that memory and other mental declines may often begin years earlier.

A new British study is the first to attempt to track cognitive skills among people in their 40s and 50s.

Participants in the study were subjected to a battery of tests designed to assess brain functioning that showed evidence of declines in memory, language and comprehensive skills as early as 45.

While the researchers did find declines, most were modest, but they were quite real.

Roughly 5,200 men and 2,200 women, between the ages of 45 and 70, were tested on three separate occasions over the course of a decade to assess memory, vocabulary and cognitive skills.

After taking into account participants levels of education, the testing showed declines in memory, reasoning and various measures of language fluency, with the exception of vocabulary, at all age levels.

Men in their mid to late 40s showed a 3.6 percent decline, compared to a 9.6 percent decline among men in their mid to late 60s.

The good news is that the level of memory decline for people in their 40s and 50s is very slight.

People can keep their brains sharp by engaging in stimulating activities, word games, exercise and hobbies. Also, eating a heart healthy diet is also beneficial.

The study was published Jan. 5 in the British Medical Journal.

View full post on Social Issue Stories

Cincinnati, OH, United States (AHN) – Most children attending preschools and nursery schools, and spending time at child care centers, are not getting enough playtime outside, and are spending too much time on sedentary activities, a new study shows.

According to researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, reasons for the lack of outdoor play possibly include concerns about injuries, budget constraints and parents’ pressure on schools to stress academic pursuits such as teaching shapes, colors and ABC’s.

However, children learn through play, including vigorous play, researchers noted. They develop and improve motor skills, hand and eye coordination, and physical activity helps to prevent weight gain, a growing problem among U.S. children.

Data shows 75 percent of children ages 3 to 5 are in some kind of child care, and 56 percent are in centers including nursery school, preschool and full-day centers.

Researchers found kids spend about 70 to 83 percent of their time in child care being sedentary, not including time spent napping or eating. Only about 2 to 3 percent of the time is spent in vigorous activities.

The study, published Wednesday in the journal Pediatrics, shows that even though educators recognize the importance of vigorous activity for preschoolers, such play is getting squeezed out because of other priorities.

View full post on Social Issue Stories

New York, NY, United States (IRIN) – Severe drought, exacerbated by poverty and conflict, hit at least four countries in 2011 — Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia — displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

Thousands in Somalia and Ethiopia began the year by making the dangerous journey to Yemen. Others from these two countries headed for South Africa where they faced arrest, deportation and detention.

Among other innovations, the humanitarian response in drought-affected countries across the Horn saw an escalation in the use of cash transfers.

As the magnitude of the drought crisis gained international attention, familiar laments emerged about the failure to heed warnings issued months earlier and learn from previous famines by building resilience to inevitable weather shocks.

Somalia

The drought was especially hard in Somalia, with the UN declaring a famine in some regions of south-central Somalia. Drought and insecurity forced hundreds of thousands to flee to neighboring Kenya, swelling the number of people in the congested Dadaab refugee complex, which for many residents, has been “home” for most of their lives.

Meanwhile, relief efforts inside Somalia were thrown into jeopardy by the banning of several agencies by the Al-Shabaab insurgency as well as by frequent looting at distribution centers and also Kenya’s military intervention, aimed at neutralizing the insurgents. US anti-terror legislation has also placed hurdles in the way of aid agencies.

After visiting Mogadishu on 9 December, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: “On the humanitarian front, UN agencies and NGOs have done outstanding work. Their collective efforts have saved thousands of lives since famine was declared in July. But the situation – particularly in central and southern Somalia – remains dire. Four million people are in crisis; 250,000 people face famine.”

At the end of 2011 it was rain which cut off those in need in Somalia. Increased insecurity in northern Kenya saw a police crackdown on Somali refugees in northern Kenya.

Kenya

The year started with calls for action to mitigate the effects of recurrent drought amid warnings that livestock deaths in northern Kenya could increase as the drought worsened. When the drought became serious later in the year, farmers as well as ordinary Kenyans came together to raise funds for the hungry in an unprecedented campaign, Kenyans4Kenya.

The drought had a largely overlooked knock-on effect on food prices in poor urban areas and led to an escalation of conflict in some pastoralist areas.

October saw floods which displaced thousands and rendered parts of the country inaccessible due to washed away bridges and impassable roads. At the end of the year the floods were affecting more than 100,000 people and undermining food security recovery.

Ethiopia

Food shortages, as a result of poor rains, were experienced in early 2011 in the Oromiya and Somali regions, prompting the government and its international partners to appeal for US$226.5 million in relief aid for almost three million people. In May, food and non-food aid started arriving.

A cash transfer program was launched in September to help reach some of the most vulnerable people in Tigray, one of Ethiopia’s most food insecure regions. The pilot scheme transfers cash to those least able to earn money.

Djibouti

Lack of adequate preparedness to cope with drought was one of the issues highlighted by President Ismail Omar Guelleh in an interview with IRIN on 27 January. “The problem in our region is that we don’t plan properly for what we know is coming. Four months ago, we had a lot of rain. Four months later, we are dying of starvation and lack of water,” he said.

In August, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) made a US$3.2 million allocation to UN agencies to help avert an acute crisis caused by the drought.

Drought and poverty prompted thousands to make the hazardous journey to Yemen, with the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, estimating that at least 60,000 migrants had arrived in Yemen between January and August 2011, double the number that had arrived during the same period in 2010.

js/am/cb

– Provided by Integrated Regional Information Networks.

View full post on Social Issue Stories