Press Release No. 09/465
December 17, 2009

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the fifth review of Sierra Leone’s economic performance under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement. Completion of the review, on December 16, 2009, will enable the immediate disbursement of SDR 12.185 million (US$19.3 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 44.88 million (about US$71 million).

15 December 2009 – United Nations development officials held talks with Government ministers in Myanmar today aimed at boosting the impoverished country’s agricultural sector to help it reclaim its status as the rice bowl of Asia.

“It is my hope these ideas and analysis will open a new space for policy discussion and a further deepening of our development partnership,” UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Executive Secretary Noeleen Heyzer said at the event held in Myanmar’s capital, Nay Pyi Taw.

Some developing countries have been hit hard by the economic crisis. Yemen is responding by creating jobs so people can afford the rising food costs.

[Video report]

Press Release No. 09/462
December 16, 2009

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the second review of Senegal’s performance under an economic program supported by an Exogenous Shock Facility (ESF) arrangement. The approval enables Senegal to draw an amount equivalent to SDR 32.36 million (about US$51 million), bringing total disbursements under the ESF arrangement to SDR 88.99 million (about US$141 million). The Board's decision was taken on a lapse of time basis.1

17 December 2009 - Director-General Pascal Lamy, in his report to the General Council on 17 December 2009 as chair of the Trade Negotiations Committee, said members should reserve the last week of March next year for stocktaking to assess whether concluding the Doha Round in 2010 “is doable”. Expressing the hope that “2010 is the year in which we build on the foundations for a safer global economy,” he said that “we can and must make our contribution through clinching a Doha deal”.

Report by the Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee

Since my last report to the General Council on 17 November the WTO has seen a couple of Senior Official Weeks as well as a fully fledged Ministerial Conference.

17 December 2009 – United Nations humanitarian agencies are providing emergency supplies and other forms of assistance to Kenyan Government officials as they respond to an outbreak of cholera in the northwest of the country that has left at least 26 people dead.

More than 200 cases of cholera have now been reported in the outbreak, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today, with most deaths occurring in relatively remote and inaccessible areas.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has provided hygiene and sanitation supplies and begun working with authorities in Turkana East district to finalize a joint response plan to the outbreak.

15 December 2009 – International assistance is vital to prevent the Central African Republic (CAR) from falling back into political crisis and potential new fighting as it prepares for elections next year after a decade of violence and conflict between Government and rebel forces, the top United Nations official for the country warned today.

15 December 2009 – The global drive to eradicate malaria is beginning to show dividends, with more than a third of the most affected African nations slashing the number of cases of the deadly infection by half, according to a new United Nations health agency report released today.

The 2009 World Malaria Report, produced by the World Health Organization (WHO), said that funding to fight the mosquito-borne disease had more than doubled, from $730 million in 2006 to $1.7 billion in 2009, allowing for a wider distribution of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and drug treatments to combat malaria around the world.

14 December 2009 – The United Nations humanitarian arm today appealed for more than $177 million to provide the basic survival needs for some 1.6 million Yemenis suffering from acute poverty and a recent escalation in violent clashes in the country’s north.

The funding is needed for the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan, which will allow UN agencies, national and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and their Government counterparts to provide life-saving assistance, bolster livelihoods and contribute to the stability of the country throughout 2010.

“Humanitarian needs are serious and increasing, and we fear that vital development gains are being lost,” said UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Pratibha Mehta.

14 December 2009 – The United Nations agency that promotes commerce to fight poverty kicked off a meeting today aimed at finding ways in which trade, investment and technology transfers between developing countries – so-called “South-South” cooperation – can improve farming to boost food security in poorer nations.

Experts from more than 20 countries gathered at the headquarters of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva for the three-day meeting on “international cooperation: South–South cooperation and regional integration.”