"[T]he decision by the government of Sudan to bar UN relief co-ordinator Jan Egeland from Darfur is as perverse as it is deplorable. It is not, however, atypical. The government appears to pursue a systematic policy of making life difficult for the NGOs and international organisations working to help the people of Darfur. Visa applications for humanitarian workers take weeks to process. Access to essential fuel is limited. Movement between regions is impeded. The obstruction and harassment is subtle but insidious and seriously affects the ability of the aid agencies to do their job....
"United Nations humanitarian agencies have appealed to all parties in the conflict in Nepal to allow safe passage for food convoys to hundreds of thousands of people, and the distribution of vitamins and de-worming tablets for 6 million children, as roadblocks, curfews and strikes make reaching remote areas increasingly difficult.
Security Council meeting on the situation
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo at
UN Headquarters in New York.
"The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Monday to deploy a U.N. peacekeeping battalion temporarily from Burundi to Congo to help with security during the country's first democratic elections in 40 years planned for June.
The resolution adopted by the council also authorizes the transfer of 50 military observers and a military hospital until July 1.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan asked the council to approve the temporary redeployment to beef up the 17,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, the world's largest, during the election period." [Read more]
See also:
INTERVIEW-Fickle donors neglect Africa's worst wars-UN
AlertNet: Central African Republic troubles
"With at least 10 million people dying each year from largely preventable infectious diseases and complications of pregnancy and delivery, the United Nations today marked World Health Day with an urgent call for more than 4 million additional doctors, nurses, midwives, managers and public health workers for developing countries.
"The global population is growing, but the number of health workers is stagnating or even falling in many of the places where they are needed most," UN World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Lee Jong-wook said of the stark statistics detailed in his agency's World Health Report 2006 - Working Together for Health, issued today.